‘Tyson Fury will get hurt if he tries to KO Oleksandr Usyk’

Tyson Fury will rematch Oleksandr Usyk on Saturday in the hope of putting right a wrong and lifting the WBC, WBA and WBO heavyweight titles. 

Fury seemed to be boxing to a clear decision victory in their first fight, but that all changed when Usyk adapted. In the ninth round Usyk very nearly stopped Fury by knocking him down, which ultimately secured him the victory.

One man who will be watching the rematch closely is the former foe of Fury, Steve Cunningham.

The two-time cruiserweight champion had a thrilling contest with Fury back in 2013, in which he dropped Fury heavily in the second round. The then-undefeated Englishman had to battle through adversity and find a way to halt the oncoming storm.

Fury found success in tiring the much smaller Cunningham out by putting every ounce of his 250-plus-pounds body on Cunningham in the clinches. By the time the seventh round came along, Cunningham was out on his feet, and several right hands later he was flat on his back.

The American never got his rematch but he knows what he would have done differently if he had.

“I mean, I wouldn’t rematch me,” Cunningham told BoxingScene. “I gave Fury hell, and he had to get extra rough and do some borderline tactics to get me out of there. So, oh shit, I wouldn’t be talking about a rematch. 

“If we were to rematch back then, I would have changed some serious things that would have made me more of a threat. But now that I know that’s how he fights, he leans, he puts his weight on you, I would have strengthened my legs and my lower back throughout that camp. I would have been even stronger and faster.”

“I was surprised,” said Cunningham. “I was surprised because I figured that’s basically one of the only ways he could beat Usyk. I was very surprised at that, it was kind of one of the things I said – that Usyk, he has a very powerful team in boxing, and I’m sure they had talks behind closed doors about Fury and his holding and leaning, to keep him off Usyk. But yeah, Usyk pressed the fight, man – he pressed the fight, Fury was boxing off the back foot and he was looking good, he was comfortable, it was a good fight.

“But if Fury was able to lay on Usyk and put his weight on him, then, yeah, he could tire Usyk out a bit and Usyk would have slowed down in the later rounds, and he would not have been as powerful, I mean not been as strong. But, no, he didn’t do any of that. I was surprised.”

Fury has been vocal about how he plans to switch things up this time around. The former heavyweight champion plans to regain his belts by knocking out Usyk. Cunningham thinks if what Fury is saying is true it will not end well.

“It’s not a good idea,” he said, “because if he’s going to go for the knockout, he’s bigger, he’s more of a target, and he’s a bit slower. Usyk is used to a faster punch coming from the cruiserweights, so the eye is tuned to a faster punch. Even though Fury landed some good shots in the first fight, that was Usyk pressing. If Fury is pressing, trying to get the knockout now, nah, he gets caught probably earlier than he did, especially now with Usyk having the feel of him, ‘I can get this guy’, he’s a little more determined, a little more eager and confident.”

“Fury’s game plan should be to come out and box, and to keep the fight at a boxer’s pace and range. He’s got the longer arms, the taller, the longer legs, I hope training camp should have been about him keeping the distance for 12 rounds – that’s what his training camp should have been about.”

Fury has been very different around the customary fight week events this time around. He has had little to say except for that he plans on smashing Usyk to pieces. Cunningham believes that this new Fury might be exactly what is needed to win back his titles.

“I’m going with Fury in this fight,” Cunningham said. “Unanimous decision, because Fury seems to be a bit more serious, more determined. Sometimes when you get that first loss, it takes you to another level in your training. So, he’s disciplined, more serious. I think he’ll stick to the plan of keeping the range and then we’ll probably see a Usyk-Fury III.”