Promoter Eddie Hearn says Tyson Fury has no choice but to take the rematch with Oleksandr Usyk immediately after losing to him last Saturday night. Hearn sees Fury as having only one option: Take the rematch.
It’s a tough one for former WBC heavyweight champion Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs) to walk away from, given the perception that the referee, Mark Nelson, saved him from a knockout in the ninth round and that he resembled an old grandpa trying to keep up with the grandkids.
The Gypsy King’s Reputation in Tatters
If Fury retires, he’ll be bowing in shame with his loss to a much smaller fighter than him, who he’d labeled a middleweight.
The other option would be for Fury to take Hearn up on his offer to face Anthony Joshua next, but that would make the Gypsy King look like a greedy, money-grubbing, over-the-hill fighter, cementing the view that fans have him of him just staying around for the money.
If Fury loses the rematch to Usyk, that would be it for him. Fighting against Joshua after back-to-back defeats would make Fury look like a weasel. The only way fans would respect a Joshua-Fury fight would be if Fury either avenged his loss to Usyk or beat a series of other top fighters to prove himself worthy of a fight against Joshua.
Usyk Rematch: The Only Way Out
“As much as I want AJ to fight the winner of loser of that fight, the rematch is massive,” said promoter Eddie Hearn to Boxing Social about the Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk rematch that the Gypsy King now says he wants.
“They’re both already signed up for it. I’m sure it has to be exercised by the loser, but Fury should be taking that rematch straight away. Can he beat him again? Who knows?
“Those types of fights take a lot out of a fighter. Tyson Fury was absolutely gone in the ninth. His power of recoveries are quite powerful because when he went back to his corner, everyone went, ‘It’s over,’ and he came out for the tenth, not as a new man, but massively recovered. So massive respect to him.
“Yeah, you should want to run that back. But Usyk was gone when he finished the fight. Not as of hurt, but exhausted. To win that fight, he had to fight at a ferocious pace,” said Hearn.
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