Lennox Lewis says Tyson Fury must “rough up” Oleksandr Usyk in their rematch in eight days on December 21st. He wants ‘The Gypsy King’ Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs) to use his 6’9″ frame to get physical for the smaller 6’3″, 220+ lb unified heavyweight champion Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) in their second contest at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh.
Was Fury “Playing Around” In 9th?
Fury, 36, did try to get physical with Usyk, but he wasn’t successful with the tactics that had paid off against Deontay Wilder. The rabbit punches, low blows, and leaning tactics didn’t work for him against Usyk. Those tactics, which had helped Tyson defeat Wilder twice, were ineffective; he was forced to try to beat Usyk with his skills. That’s why he lost. His skills were too basic, and Usyk dominated him down the stretch.
Lewis had an interesting take on the ninth round of the Fury-Usyk fight on May 18th. He claims Fury was just “playing around” when he was supposedly hurt, and the referee did a good job of not stopping the fight. If Fury was just playing around, he took a big risk because many referees would have stopped the contests or allowed Usyk to finish him. This one did neither. He gave Fury a standing eight count after shoving Usyk away.
Lewis’s perspective seems out of touch with reality because Fury looked genuinely hurt, and the referee’s decision to give him a standing eight count seemed to suggest that he was trying to save him.
Roughing Up Usyk
“I see Fury establishing his jab and establishing his size. Rough him up a big. Use that big 6’9″ body and put it on Usyk and make it harder for him,” said Lennox Lewis to the media about what Tyson Fury should do to defeat Oleksandr Usyk in the rematch in eight days on December 21st.
“Throw more punches, get that jab going, don’t be there for the hit, and apply yourself a bit more. He absolutely knew what he did wrong,” said Lewis about Fury knowing what he did wrong in his defeat against Usyk.
“You can say that night, he lost it and Usyk won it. This time, he knew how he lost it, and he needs to make sure that doesn’t happen again,” said Lewis about the Gypsy King.
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