Tyson Fury did essentially nothing during today’s public workout inside the ring in Riyadh ahead of his rematch with unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk.
The Gypsy King looked and sounded like a grumpy fallen King, not a happy camper. Fury might not be happy about the many fans who aren’t giving any shot at winning the rematch against Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) on Saturday night.
So, to pay them back, he’s withholding, not giving of himself, and showing classic passive-aggressive behavior. It’s so easy to read Fury.
Minimal Movement
Fury’s actions today boiled down to these four things:
- Entered the ring and took off his jacket
- Put on his gloves
- Took them off
- A few words before leaving the ring
All the fans and media who had come out today to watch the former WBC heavyweight champion Fury’s workout were left with very little to see because he withheld his movement and behavior.
From Fury’s standpoint, it’s understandable that he didn’t want to waste energy working or give anything away that Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) could glean.
Fury is nearing 37, and he can’t afford to use up his precious energy during the workout because he will need all he can to move his huge 6’9″ frame around the ring on Saturday night at the Kingdom Arena.
Silent Treatment
It’s a sign of an older fighter when they conserve their energy during the last public workouts the week of their fights. Younger fighters use the time to work hard, impress the fans and media, and stay limber.
Fury has looked haggard and used up this week, having recovered from a hard training camp and a bad beating last May in his loss to Usyk. That fight took a lot of Fury, leaving him in the wrecked physical state we’ve seen this week.
“A lot of pain,” said Tyson Fury when asked after today’s public workout what fans can expect on Saturday night for his fight against Oleksandr Usyk. “Smash and damage.”
“A lot of hurt,” said Fury when asked by DAZN’s Claudia Trejo if he plans on being clean-shaven for Saturday. “Hurt, serious hurt. A lot of damage.”
During the interview, she wanted more from Fury but was unwilling to give it. At that moment, he looked almost childish. It was hard to watch that interview without feeling sorry for Trejo.
Fury couldn’t even get himself to talk. You can also read that as a sign that he wants to save his precious energy for the fight because even talking expends fuel. When you’ve got to have every ounce of strength, talking might take too much out of Fury. From watching the minimalist approach to the workout and the interview, you can see now that the loss to Usyk has deeply affected Fury.
Fury didn’t just brush it off like he’s been saying. He’s mortally wounded, like like a shell-shocked soldier coming back from the frontlines, unable to forget what happened and upset for not giving more of himself during the battle. That’s far worse than a soldier dealing mentally with battle fatigue from being shelled. It’s those who know they should have done more, but their nerves failed them.
Serious As A Monk
“I see a completely different Tyson Fury. He is not playing anymore. We don’t see him smiling. This man probably did his homework,” said Usyk’s promoter, Alex Krassyuk, about Tyson Fury while watching him during his public workout in the ring today.
“He probably realized that spoiling, spending his energy with the media, and making fun of his training camp is not the best idea. This time, he kept it serious like a monk,” said Krassyuk about Fury. “Most likely, he’ll try and make some corrections in his technique and tactics.
“I expect that it’ll be a way more dramatic fight than the first one. Oleksandr Usyk was always under his skin. Tyson tried to do this with Oleksandr, but he had an advantage. He doesn’t speak fluent English. We have a saying in Ukraine. ‘The bigger the wardrobe, the louder the noise when it falls.’
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