Former heavyweight king Riddick Bowe says the time comes for all fighters, as it did for himself, when, quite simply, they no longer want to get hit. Bowe, in an interview with Pro Boxing Fans, said that, in his opinion, this time has arrived for former heavyweight champ Tyson Fury. Speaking on what he thinks will happen when Fury faces his conqueror Oleksandr Usyk in their rematch on December 21, “Big Daddy” said he is picking Usyk to repeat his win from May.
(Credit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing)
Bowe, who once soared and looked like he was on his way to true greatness, believes Fury “doesn’t have it no more.” Bowe, beaten only by one man, this Evander Holyfield, in the second fight from their thrilling trilogy, doesn’t think we’ll be seeing Usyk and Fury box a trilogy.
“Not Fury,” Bowe said when asked who wins on December 21 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. “I don’t think he has it no more. He doesn’t have it like he used to. Time has changed. He’s changed. He can’t take a punch like he used to. Even with myself, there was a time when I was tired of it, I didn’t want to get hit no more.”
So, is Bowe right? Is Fury no longer able, or willing, to take a shot like he once was? If the rematch with Usyk comes down to a fight where it’s largely down to who wants it more, well, does Usyk want it more? Has Fury’s peak come and gone? Was this some time ago, perhaps? In terms of punch resistance, Fury has shown incredible recuperative powers during his career, and he managed again to suck it up and get through the storm in that torrid ninth round against Usyk back in May.
But how much longer can Fury carry on eating shots and coming back? Might we see Fury get stopped, perhaps on his feet, for the first time in his career on December 21? Taking a good punch is something all fighters have to do, even the best defensive fighters. Can Fury, now aged 36, rely on his chin in the must-win rematch with the skilled southpaw from Ukraine?
There will be a whole lot of other questions being asked as we inch closer to this quite fascinating rematch, but for now, is Bowe right when he says Fury can’t take it like he was once able to take it? And is Fury tired of boxing, the way Bowe says he was himself in the latter stages of his career?
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