One of the three fighters to share the ring with Tyson Fury more than once has predicted he will avenge his defeat by Oleksandr Usyk.
Fury and Usyk contest the WBA, WBO and WBC heavyweight titles at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday evening, when a third fight between them could also be at stake.
It was in May when Usyk so impressively came from behind to inflict the first defeat of the 36-year-old Fury’s career and when, as on two occasions with Deontay Wilder, Fury was almost stopped.
There were three fights between Wilder and Fury, three between Fury and Derek Chisora, and two between Fury and John McDermott, who remains widely considered by observers to have been unfortunate not to have become the first to record victory over Fury when they fought in 2009.
After Fury was awarded a controversial decision that night a rematch was agreed for the summer of 2010, and he improved to defeat the smaller McDermott in the way he had been expected to the first time.
McDermott was frustrated by Fury’s increased ability to use his size advantages in their rematch and, against Usyk, 37, believes a similar approach can inspire victory the second time around.
“It’s so hard – Usyk’s so good, isn’t he?” the retired McDermott told BoxingScene. “But I’ve got a funny feeling Fury can do it.
“Use his size. He didn’t really use it [previously] – he was on the back foot most of the time, wasn’t he? He needs to use his size; push forward. He was quite easy to hit, Usyk – he wasn’t too hard to hit. So if [Fury] uses his size, pushes forward, he’ll be more successful that way.
“It was a bad decision, wasn’t it [against me in 2009]? He was completely changed [for the rematch]. I trained too hard and left it all in the gym. But he obviously improved – he came in heavier; I came in lighter, so that I’d be faster, but it just didn’t quite work out that way.
“He improved. The man’s got plenty of bottle. For the size of him he’s sharp; very fast; it’s fantastic movement.
“He used his size. He was holding me; grabbing me; stopping me from doing my work. The first fight, he wasn’t really holding me, he was having a fight with me. The second one, he used his size. Basically, he wore me out by doing it, and I was trying to fight him off. He put his arm around my back and grabbed my other arm, and that stopped me from doing what I wanted to do. Whenever I wanted to clinch, I was grabbed by him – I think he weighed about 20st – and he stopped me from doing what I was doing.
“At the time he’d only had so few fights. Now, he’s a masterclass.”
Should Fury win on Saturday, a third fight between he and his Ukrainian rival would be almost inevitable.
“I think Tyson Fury’s going to do it – I reckon Fury can pull it off,” McDermott continued. “The first fight he was mucking around a few times, wasn’t he? [But] I reckon Fury can do it – I’ve got a funny feeling Fury’s going to stop him.
“If he beats Fury then there won’t be a third fight, but if it’s close there’ll be a third fight, because there’s so much money, isn’t there? There’s a ridiculous amount of money.
“I think [Fury’s] brilliant – I really do. I still think he’s a fantastic fighter.
“I think [he can earn a stoppage]. Fury was gone in the ninth round – he was out, really. But he was hurting Usyk to the body. I’m so torn between the two.”
Read the full article here
