Spencer Oliver believes Tyson Fury will defeat Oleksandr Usyk in the rematch if the “best version” of the Gypsy King shows up on the night of December 21st in Riyadh. Spencer’s only question is whether the best version of Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs) still exists.
Fury is not the fighter he once was, but he was never as good as fans thought. Many of his British fans glorify him, saying he was one of the best, but never beat anyone to earn the praise that they gave him.
If you look at Fury objectively, with eyes open, examining who he beat, you’d conclude that he was just a creation by calculated matchmaking. He never beat anyone good and should have been knocked out in his first and third fights against Deontay Wilder.
Tyson’s only notable win came against a washed 39-year-old, gunshy Wladimir Klitschko. This wasn’t a young Wladimir that Fury beat. Klitschko was near 40 and had looked poor in his previous fight against Bryan Jennings in April 2015.
A young version of Wladimir would have destroyed Fury. Also, some of the fighters from Wladimir’s era, like Corrie Sanders, Lennox Lewis, and Vitali Klitschko, would have wiped the floor with him as well.
The way Fury looked against Usyk in their previous fight on May 18th, he’ll lose the rematch by knockout. His path of winning is a controversial decision because he doesn’t possess the skills, athleticism, or cardio to defeat Usyk. We saw that last time. Moreover, Usyk knows he’s got to knock Fury out, which is why he had him sign a photo during their kickoff press conference last week.
The photo showed Fury in trouble in the ninth round of their fight. Usyk was sending the message that he would not allow Fury to make it the distance because he did not want to put it in the hands of the judges.
Given the huge money at stake in a Fury vs. Anthony Joshua fight in early 2025, Usyk knows he has to knock Tyson out.
Fury is 36, hasn’t beaten any top-level heavyweights since his victory over Wladimir Klitschko in 2015, and he didn’t even look impressive in that fight.
Tyson’s Resume Since 2018
– Oleksandr Usyk
– Francis Ngannou
– Dereck Chisora
– Dillian Whyte
– Deontay Wilder x 3
– Otto Wallin
– Tom Schwarz
– Francesco Pianeta
– Sefer Seferi
“He only has to make slight adjustments. Listen, the best version of Tyson Fury beats the best version of Oleksandr Usyk,” said Spencer Oliver to talkSport Boxing, believing that Tyson Fury can beat Oleksandr Usyk if he brings his “best version” of himself. “I think he has the capabilities of winning that fight. It’s just whether the best version of Tyson Fury is still around.”
The problem is that the best version of Fury is long gone in the rearview mirror, left behind since his best career win over Wladimir Klitschko in 2015. After that fight, Fury celebrated like a madman, eating way to nearly 400 lbs, and didn’t fight for two and a half years until 2018.
The Gyspy King Fury became obese, and he’s not been the same since, even though he made a successful comeback against marginal opposition. In the six years since Fury made his comeback, the best win on his ledger is Deontay Wilder, which doesn’t say much now that we know that he was never a good fighter. Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang’s wins over Wilder took much of the shine away from Fury’s wins over him.
There’s no one else that Fury has beaten in his comeback to suggest that the “best version” of him will defeat Usyk on December 21st. That just sounds like a bunch of poppycock from Spencer, suggesting that he hasn’t taken a close, critical look at Fury’s resume to examine who he has actually beaten since 2018.
“When Tyson Fury lost the fight and lost it by one point on one of the scorecards, it was very close on the scorecards. One point separated them both,” said Spencer. “There’s not huge adjustments that need to be made [for Fury]. Forget changing the team. Andy Lee and Sugarhill Steward are great trainers.”
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