Tyson Fury was less effective in his rematch with unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk than in his first fight last May. The former WBC heavyweight champion Fury (34-2-1, 24 KOs) lost the rematch last Saturday night, on December 21st, by a 12-round unanimous decision in Riyadh.
The scores for the Fury-Usyk 2 rematch were 116-112, 116-112 and 116-112. I watched the fight and saw Usyk win 10-2. It was all Fury could do to muster up a couple of shots in each round, as he looked like the forces of gravity weighed him down.
The Giant Slows Down
His movements were painfully slow, like an older person with arthritis; he couldn’t pull the trigger, and his mobility was gone. This was not the Fury of nine years ago who had beaten Wladimir Klitschko in 2015. He’d aged.
Fury and his promoter seemed surprised that they’d lost the fight. They were under the impression that he’d done enough to win. Fury squawked about believed he’d won by three rounds, and if he’s on the level with this view, it would explain why he wasn’t going all out in the championship rounds to get the knockout or at least a couple of knockdowns.
Although Fury wasn’t hurt like he’d been in his first encounter with Usyk (23-0, 14 KOs), his approach wasn’t as good. In the rematch, Tyson had gained a lot of weight, believing he could use his size like he’d done in fight two against Deontay Wilder in 2020.
That didn’t work for Fury because Usyk was too fast with his angles. When Fury did begin grabbing him to maul in the later rounds, Usyk was nailing him with combinations when he’d separate. Fury was getting lit up repeatedly when he’d maul, which means the whole purpose of his coming in heavy was a mistake.
Fury-Usyk 2 Scores
115-112: Usyk
114-113: Fury
114-113: Usyk
Failing To See The Urgency
Fury’s trainer, SugarHill Steward, failed to make him understand how desperate the situation was for him late in the fight. He’d repeatedly told Fury, 36, that he needed to stop backing up and had to come forward to pressure.
He didn’t tell him in the 11th and 12th rounds that he needed a knockout. It came down to SugarHill failing to tell Fury how bleak things were because he should have seen what the whole world saw. Fury was behind in the fight in the last two rounds and needed a knockout.
If Fury were younger, I’d say get rid of SugarHill and find a new trainer. It doesn’t matter now. Fury will likely retire after two fights against Anthony Joshua, and that’ll be it.
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