Tyson Fury wasn’t able to use his size and weight to maul Oleksandr Usyk because he was ready for the Gypsy King’s dirty tactics last Saturday night. He wasn’t going to let Fury use his shenanigans like he’d done in his previous six fights.
Usyk’s Secret Weapon: The Anti-Leaning Technique
That played a factor in unified heavyweight champion Usyk’s victory over Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs) because the 262-lb fighter was forced to box once he discovered that he couldn’t grapple, lean, or rough up the smaller fighter.
When Fury would try to lean on his weight on Usyk, he was roughly pushed away. The strength of Usyk’s shoves was surprising because bigger fighters than him had been unable to get Fury to let go once he had his mitts on them.
Commentator Tim Bradley noted that Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) was pushing Fury away when he tried to lean on him and wasn’t going to let him use that tactic like many of his past opponents had since he teamed up with coach Sugarhill Steward in 2019.
Usyk defeated Fury by a 12 round split decision to capture the undisputed championship at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The Gypsy King’s Glass Chin Exposed
Fury was out on his feet in the ninth round and close to being knocked out when referee Mark Nelson swooped in and saved him by getting Usyk off and giving him an eight count.
“It was interesting to see how strong Usyk was, and how quick he was inside the pocket. How quickly he was about to get Fury up off of him to create space for himself. Like, ‘You ain’t going to tie me up like that,’” said boxing expert Tim Bradley to the media, discussing Oleksandr Usyk’s win over Tyson Fury.
The bullying tactics that Fury had come to depend on to win his fights weren’t possible against Usyk.
“So, there weren’t a lot of situations where Fury could use his weight and kind of bully him on the inside because Usyk was prepared for that. A hell of a performance from him. That was masterful,” said Bradley.
What was surprising was how Usyk, a fighter not known for his power, was able to hurt Fury in the ninth round. Usyk had Fury staggering around the ring, looking tipsy.
Usyk shouldn’t have been able to do that to Fury, but it’s possible that his punch resistance isn’t the same since his three fights with Deontay Wilder. This clearly wasn’t the Gypsy King that battled Deontay three times. Some fans believe Wilder damaged Fury, leaving the glass-chinned fighter we saw getting pummeled by Usyk.
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