Turki Al-Shiekh says the outcome of the first Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk fight would have been “different” if the Gyspy King’s father, John Fury, wasn’t in his corner between rounds.
SugarHill and John Fury told Tyson to do things that weren’t effective due to his age, slow movements, and colossal size. John’s advice wasn’t the problem. When you’ve got an old, limited fighter, even the perfect instructions won’t help.
Fury resembled a dinosaur being out-maneuvered by the quicker, more agile Usyk. The instructions from SugaHill and John in his corner were utterly useless to him.
Was John A Distraction?
John Fury was just there, giving simple instructions, and wasn’t talking a lot. He sounded level-headed in the corner.
If anything, John was the one positive voice in Fury’s corner that night because SugarHill Steward didn’t look like he was much of any help. He looked like someone who was panicking when things turned sour for Tyson.
Tyson’s real problem was Usyk’s talent. He wasn’t good enough to land his shots on him, and he looked mentally weak once the talented Ukrainian hurt him in the ninth round.
Looking back at the fight, it didn’t appear that Tyson was paying any attention to his father, John Fury, in between rounds. He always looked and listened to his trainer, SugarHill Steward, for directions.
Fury’s real problem was his inability to handle the body shots from Usyk, which caused him to fight off the ropes. Tyson’s mobility wasn’t there for this fight. He looked like age had caught up to him, preventing him from fighting in the center of the ring.
Fury (34-2-1, 24 KOs) lost the first fight by a 12-round split decision to Usyk (23-0, 14 KOs) on May 18th, 2024.
“Fury-Usyk, the lack of atmosphere, I felt that hindered him in the final two or three rounds. I felt it could have been different if it was in Wembley [Stadium] in England. Maybe Tyson would have listened,” said Carl Froch on his YouTube channel about his belief that Tyson Fury would have beaten Oleksandr Usyk in their first fight on May 18th in 2024 if the contest had been held in London, England.
“It would have been different if his father was not in the corner,” said Turki Al-Shiekh about Tyson’s father, John Fury, being in the corner during the first Fury-Usyk fight.
Staging the fight at Wembley Stadium wouldn’t have changed anything. Fury would have lost there too, and it likely would have been worse for him. Usyk was at his best when the crowd was making a lot of noise in the first fight. If the fight had been in front of 90,000+ fans at Wembley Stadium, Usyk would have attacked Fury nonstop and likely knocked him out. The atmosphere the Froch talks about would have made it worse for Fury.
It’s unfair to make John Fury the scapegoat for Tyson’s defeat because he would have lost that fight even without him there. Whatever advice that John gave, it wasn’t the reason Fury lost. He would have lost that fight under any circumstances because he wasn’t good enough. Whatever Fury tried, Usyk adapted quickly to it and outsmarted him.
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