Boxing analyst Tim Bradley says the adjustments Oleksandr Usyk made in the eighth round played a large part in his victory over WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.
Early Rounds: Fury’s Dominance
Bradley felt that Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs) was controlling the fight early on, sweeping around four through six, but unified champion Usyk hit him with a shot in the eighth round that he suspects may have broken the Gypsy King’s nose.
From there, it was all Usyk getting the better of Fury in the last four rounds to earn the 12-round split decision victory to become the undisputed heavyweight champion in their fight in Riyadh.
“I thought Fury was going to be able to pull it off. He was boxing exactly how he was supposed to,” said boxing expert Tim Bradley to the media last Saturday night, reacting to Oleksandr Usyk’s win over Tyson Fury in Riyadh.
“He was keeping outside, using his jab well, and going down to the body with the bolo [punch],” Bradley continued about Fury. “The second round, I thought he won, and four, five, six. I thought he swept four or five rounds, and boxing brilliantly.
Eighth Round Nosedive: The Beginning of the End for Fury
“Something happened in the eighth. He got caught with a shot on the nose, and he started messing around with it. I don’t know what happened. If he got his nose broken, but that’s when it changed.
“Great adjustments by Usyk’s team because he was getting set up with that uppercut because Fury would jab and invite him. He would flick the jab out there, and Usyk would step in and try to counter, and Fury would time him.
“What he [Usyk] did was he stopped biting on that. He stepped a little inside and lept his hands high and he fought back. So when Fury would punch, he would be close enough to come back with his offense. So, he would counter the counter. That was the minor adjustment he did. He did that in the ninth round.
“Once he did that, it was all she wrote. That looping left hand was able to hurt Fury several times,” said Bradley about the left that Usyk was throwing that was catching Fury.
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