When Tyson Fury steps into the ring today, against the only boxer to ever beat him in a prizefight, there is more at stake for the Englishman than mere titles and glory. A second consecutive defeat to Ukraine’s Oleksandr Usyk in Saudi Arabia, particularly one more convincing than the first, could leave the 36-year-old Fury’s career at the crossroads – and his life irrevocably different.
For so long, and sometimes against all odds, he has regarded himself – when fit and well – as the best fighting man on the planet. Lose again to Usyk, his only rival when it comes to deciding the greatest heavyweight of the current era, and Fury becomes just another victim to the Ukrainian’s brilliance. Far worse, for him, is that his long-held perception of who he is, and what he’s always excelled at, changes beyond recognition. For now, he can brush off the first reverse, which came via split decision in May, as his own doing; he can point to moments where he clowned a little too much, he can focus on the periods of success he enjoyed and even label the split decision that went against him unjust – simply to convince himself that his destiny remains in his own hands. Lose, however, and he won’t be able to kid even himself anymore, much less anyone else.
Seemingly never far from boiling point, Fury’s demeanour during fight week speaks to his awareness of how pivotal Saturday night might become. For a man who has at times found life so difficult, even while at the top of the mountain, there must be some trepidation about how he’ll cope when the only way is down. Which is why we can expect Tyson Fury to summon the best of himself this weekend. What the best possible Tyson Fury looks like in December 2024, however, is yet to be revealed.
He says he’s prepared more extensively this time. His trainer is naturally of the same opinion. Those who have witnessed him ready himself for the rematch claim the middle-aged man’s tools are at their sharpest. But have training camp testimonies ever been any different? What we’re supposed to now be sure of, that Fury had a poor camp last time, is not what we were told upon its completion. Back then, he was better than ever, too.
That’s not to say that we won’t see the very best of the Gypsy King tonight – because if anyone was born to surprise us it is he – but more a note of caution. He has lived badly for too many of his 36 years, he’s taken countless blows to the head, he hasn’t won a worthwhile fight since April 2022, and he’s never once been in the kind of shape a fighter should be.
At 283lbs, he is significantly heavier than he was seven months ago. Though unquestionably by design, to bully, bash and bedraggle his smaller opponent, what’s unknown is exactly how he put on that weight, and, at this stage of his career, whether it will actually do him any good at all.
It has worked in the past, of course. The 2020 bombing of Deontay Wilder, when few believed he bulked up to walk through his old rival like he promised to, is testament of such. But even with that evidence at hand, it’s still bordering on fantasy to imagine him doing the same to someone as cunning and clever as Oleksandr Usyk.
In sharp contrast to Fury, who has careered from staying silent to frothing at the mouth over the last few days, Usyk – like always – has been the picture of calm in the Middle East. Perhaps that’s partly to do with the safety net he has in place – with one victory chalked up he knows the worst that follows a loss is a third fight – or, more likely, he is simply just being himself. Whether fighting in Olympic Games, in eight-rounders on the way up, title fights at cruiserweight or world-stopping showdowns in the sport’s banner division, that very natural aura of self-confidence has been a constant. Upon being called a “fucking rabbit” by Fury with reference to the gap between his teeth, Usyk merely smiled to reveal it. And it’s that failure to stir the slightest reaction in the Ukrainian that will have had a more telling effect than the childlike insults designed to do so. Unlike previous foes, like Wilder, Wladimir Klitschko, Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora, Fury has failed to put even the smallest dent in Usyk’s psyche.
That mental consistency can be matched by Usyk’s performances in the ring throughout his career. Now 22-0 (14 KOs), the southpaw is yet to lose a fight.
But to say he’s unbeatable would be untrue. In fact, though his majestic skills do not yet seem to be failing him, one might look at the 37-year-old’s recent performances and conclude that a loss is in the mail. In his last three outings, he had more trouble with Anthony Joshua in the rematch than their opener, he found himself on the canvas for more than a minute from a Daniel Dubois blow that may or may not have been low, and Fury seemed to have solved the Usyk conundrum only for the former world cruiserweight champion to rebound with the defining answer in May.
Usyk has been a boxer for a long time. In recent years, his body has been jacked to perform in the land of the giants. There will be strains, niggles, and the omnipresent threat of injury. If that was untrue, why would he outwardly yearn for a return to his more natural habitat of the cruiserweight class? So, while we struggle to visualize a scenario in which Usyk is left battered, bruised and beaten, simply because we haven’t yet seen one occur, does not mean that scenario cannot. And if any of his current rivals can make that a reality, it is surely Tyson Fury. If he can find his form of old, if he is indeed right this time, if he has drawn one last herculean effort from within, then the world heavyweight championship can change hands.
The former king was in complete control for at least four of the 12 rounds earlier this year. If Usyk is susceptible to one shot in the heavyweight division, it is the uppercut – whether planted to head or body – and Fury found a home for that blow with increasing ease. Throw in his ability to jab, paw, and then add extra power at exactly the right time, and the case for Fury – regardless of his age and wear and tear – is easy to make.
But the defining memory of that first battle is not Tyson doing what Tyson does, but Tyson doing what Usyk made him do. And that ninth round, when Fury was swatted around the ring like a dazed fly, might yet be remembered as the beginning of his end. Though he did eventually recover, the grogginess in his limbs lingered for far longer than ever before.
Thus, the prediction must be Usyk. Anyone picking Fury to win won’t meet an argument here, but when examining all evidence, as opposed to listing the what-ifs, then one surely must side with the undefeated, unflustered man.
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