Tyson Fury says he will be more focused and won’t “Clown” in his rematch with unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk in 22 days on December 21st in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He sounds like he’s in full denial about how overmatched he was by Usyk, and it’s going to be worse for him in their rematch.
The ‘Gypsy King’ (34-1-1, 24 KOs) and his fans believe the reason for his previous 12-round split decision loss to Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) in their first fight on May 18th was due to a loss of focus and a bit of clowning.
Like many aging fighters unwilling to confront the truth about their failures, Fury, 36, lost because he was never that good. Usyk exposed how limited Fury was by attacking him to the body, backing him up against the ropes, and stunning him with a big left hand in the ninth. That should have been the end.
Was Usyk Hurt?
“I have a feeling Fury is going to do it in the second fight. I really do think Fury is not messing around this time, and he’s got the bit between his teeth,” said Gareth A. Davies to talkSport Boxing, predicting a win for Tyson Fury over Oleksandr Usyk on December 21st.
“I think it’s going to be mighty close again, and he [Fury] might be clinging on again to win on points. I just think he’s going to leave it all in there. He’s a special guy. He’s a very, very special guy, and it was a very close, brutal fight the first time around.
“The takeaway in the sit down the other day was Usyk admitting that he wasn’t hurt in that fight, and he was hurt in that fight. He was so stoic. He gives you nothing. He [Fury] was beating him up,” said Gareth about his belief that Fury was beating up Usyk in the first six rounds.
Gareth is a perfect example of a typical Fury fan who feels his previous loss was just a case of him not coming forward to pressure Usyk. Looking closely at the first fight with both eyes open, you can see that Usyk was landing hard shots at Fury’s breadbasket in the first two rounds.
He didn’t like those shots and retreated to the ropes to avoid getting hit with those shots. That was where the fight was lost for Fury. He couldn’t handle the body shots from Usysk, so he beat a hasty retreat to the ropes to use them to support his wounded midsection.
The first half of the Fury-Usyk fight was NOT close, and Usyk wasn’t hurt. He dominated five of the first six rounds and had Fury out on his feet in round nine.
“A lot of the doubters and journalists were saying that Usyk was up there with the legends of the sport. The Muhammad Alis, the Fraziers, the Foremans, the Joe Louis, and certainly the greatest of his generation,” said promoter Frank Warren to Sky Sports Boxing.
“I’m pleased they’ve said that because when Tyson beats him, no one can debate the fact that he’s beat the best of his generation, which will make him the best of his generation,” said Warren about Fury.
Doubters Demand Retirement
If Fury loses the rematch with Usyk on December 21st, there are going to be many boxing fans who are going to call for him to retire. That will basically be the 36-year-old Gypsy King’s third consecutive if you count his controversial 10-round split decision win against Francis Ngannou last year on October 28, 2023, as a loss.
Fury looked like the loser in that fight but was gifted a decision. The whole bag of tricks that Tyson had used to defeat Deontay Wilder twice, the leaning, wrestling, and roughhouse tactics, failed him against Ngannou. They didn’t work on Usyk either.
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