Former heavyweight champ Tyson Fury hits 36 today, this an age that, for some heavyweights, proved to be one that saw them begin a slow decline. After suffering just one pro defeat, this of course at the hands of the superb Oleksandr Usyk last time out, Fury needs to get revenge in the December rematch or else his place in boxing history will be quite severely compromised; such is the criticism a man who declares (or declared) how he is the greatest fighter ever born has called upon himself.
Fury, an unnaturally good mover for such a big man, a big man who also has (or had) an uncommon engine, has it all to do a few days before Christmas. Fury HAS to beat Usyk or else. As such, Fury’s fans and supporters are hoping and believing “The Gypsy King” will be literally throwing himself into training around three months before the Usyk return. There can be no distractions, no drunken episodes, no stone left unturned in the place that really matters for all fighters – the gym.
But how much has Fury got left inside at this stage? Fury, who has been knocked down some eight times during his pro career (by Neven Pajkic, Steve Cunningham, Deontay Wilder X4, Francis Ngannou, and Usyk) has (or had) stunningly impressive recuperative powers, with him clambering back up each time and avoiding defeat in each fight but the Usyk one. But how much longer can Fury’s chin serve him in good stead? Even a piece of stone that is pelted by water over a period of time will eventually weaken.
As for Fury’s speed and skill, both were matched by Usyk, and on the night, Fury seemed to be stuck between game-plans as far as how to defeat the immensely skilled Ukrainian southpaw. The advantages in speed and movement that Fury had over bigger, less agile men were not there against Usyk. Now, can Fury make adjustments, and can he and his team come up with an improved, 100 percent reliable game-plan with which to beat Usyk in the second fight?
Or has Fury got a lot left, but Usyk is simply a fighter who, as the saying goes, has his number? We don’t know. Fury had success in the first fight with Usyk, his body work working along with his uppercuts upstairs. But Usyk made the necessary adjustments during the fight, with him coming on to hurt Fury like no other man has ever done, this in that torrid, red-hot ninth round. Fury was all but stopped, his courage (and some help, some said, from the referee) keeping him in the fight.
Usyk’s team have said they will watch Usyk get the stoppage win in December. Maybe. Or Maybe Fury will lock himself away, with him pushing his (ageing?) body through the single toughest and most gruelling training camp of his entire life, with this being just enough to see him to a close points victory of his own the second time around. Have we seen the absolute best of Fury, maybe in his second fight with Wilder, or is there more greatness to come? Never before in his career has Fury entered a fight with so, so much on the line. Pressure busts pipes, the old time trainers say. Pressure can also bring out the best in a mentally strong, utterly determined ring warrior. Is Fury such a fighter?
Usyk we know lives the life and has always done so, while Fury has pushed his body through a lot over the past eight years: huge weight gain, drink and drug abuse, the consumption of junk food. How much this has taken from Fury, and if and when the effects will really come into play, again, we just don’t know. Fury, if he can put it right and defeat Usyk in December, will prove a heck of a lot, and not only to the experts, but also to himself. For whatever he may say, Fury will have doubts going into the December 21 fight. But again, these doubts, fears even, could serve Fury well.
How would Fury’s legacy be affected if he did lose to Usyk again? Would a second defeat force Fury and his ego through the retirement door, the way Usyk’s co-trainer has said will be the case? Never before has Fury, 34-1-1(24) had some many questions asked of him prior to going into a fight.
It may seem unfair to say a fighter with one solitary loss has it all to prove by way of avenging that loss or else. After all, Fury – though his resume is not exactly crammed full of big names, at least not compared to the heavyweight immortals Fury has told us he is greater than – has some fine wins on his record and he has done some amazing things in the ring. But Usyk may well go down as Fury’s defining opponent. And if Fury loses back-to-back to Usyk, he will not like that one bit; despite what he may say to the contrary, with Fury saying he couldn’t give a f**k about what any of his critics say about him. Fury does care, believe it.
Tyson is 36 now, and he needs to train, fight, and live the life, the remainder of his fighting life, as best as he can. Surely he knows this, though, right? Fury has been quiet as of late, which could be a good thing, and we have yet to see or hear the pre-Usyk defeat bluster (although Fury did say, quite incredibly in a not too distant interview, that he felt he won the Usyk fight “easy” and that he had “too much fun” during the battle).
Will Fury ever be the same again from here on in? Again, we don’t know. But we will all be tuning in on December 21 in an effort at finding out.
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