Fury vs Usyk Feature: Oleksandr Usyk In Focus

Conquering Cruiserweight on the Road

From turning pro in 2013, Usyk stopped his first nine opponents in the 200-pound division before fighting for his first world title in his tenth bout. Undefeated Krzysztof Glowacki of Poland was the title holder. The fight taking place in Gdansk saw the champion with home advantage. Usyk was unfazed as he comprehensively outboxed Glowacki to win his first world belt.

After a couple of defenses, Usyk entered the cruiserweight World Boxing Super Series (WBSS) tournament. If he could keep winning, he would become an undisputed champion, as the other title holders were also in the competition. Usyk defeated experienced German citizen Marco Huck in Germany to advance to the WBSS semifinals. Latvia’s Mairis Briedis, undefeated and holder of the WBC belt, awaited him in Riga. It was close, but Usyk did enough to win a majority decision. Another away win. One more would complete the cruiserweight set.

The WBSS final would take place in Moscow, where Murat Gassiev would have a home advantage. Usyk put on a boxing clinic to earn a wide unanimous decision. Gassiev’s titles left Russia with Usyk. He had been crowned WBSS champion and undisputed cruiserweight champion. Usyk’s run to glory at 200 pounds underlines his mental strength. Constantly fighting undefeated champions in their backyards and getting the job done suggests that nothing much phases Usyk. This mindset will be an asset to him against Fury.

Becoming a Heavyweight and Winning Titles

Usyk made his heavyweight debut in October 2019 against American Chazz Witherspoon. We hadn’t seen Usyk for 11 months as he took his time bulking up slightly for what awaited him at heavyweight. Usyk weighed 215 pounds that night. He has gradually gone up in weight as his campaign has continued, but he hasn’t robbed himself of his speed by bulking up too much. After defeating Witherspoon, Usyk outpointed Derek Chisora in London in October 2020. He weighed 217 pounds for that contest; his win paved the way for a bout against unified champion Anthony Joshua .

Usyk would face Joshua twice and win two decisions against the Englishman. In the first bout, Usyk triumphed via unanimous decision, becoming unified champion in the process, while in the rematch, which took place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Usyk also had his hand raised, the official result being a split decision. After that, Usyk knocked out Daniel Dubois in Wroclaw, Poland. The 2023 bout was slightly controversial as Usyk went down from what the referee ruled as a low blow. The Dubois camp was convinced it was a legitimate punch, and Usyk milked the situation to gain as much time as possible to recover from being hurt by a legal shot.

If that was what he did then it shows Usyk is as fast in the mind as he is with his punches. Something else to bear in mind ahead of Fury vs. Usyk. For the two Joshua fights and his encounter with Dubois, Usyk scaled 221 pounds. It will be interesting to see if he weighs in around this number again or if he is slightly bigger and more muscular to deal with Fury, who will likely be between 265 and 275 pounds.

Usyk’s Keys To Victory 

Standing at 6’3 and with a listed reach of 78 inches, Usyk’s physical dimensions are dwarfed by Fury’s official stats of 6’9 and 85-inch reach. It is clear then that Usyk will need to tap into his high boxing IQ to succeed against Fury.

One area where the Ukrainian does have an advantage is speed. As a smaller heavyweight in this era of giants, Usyk has made a habit of jabbing quickly against opponents and getting out of the way. He can jab up effectively, something he will need to do against Fury, but he shouldn’t neglect jabbing to the body to give Fury something more to think about.

Usyk is also a beautiful mover in the boxing ring. His footwork is absolutely magnificent, enabling him to open up angles of attack that heavier-footed heavyweights could only dream of. With this speed of foot, Usyk could again make defending his attacks a nightmare for Fury. Again, the large body of Fury should be targeted by Usyk’s power punches. This could take something away from Fury’s masterful movement.

Movement can also be Usyk’s best defensive mechanism in this bout, as he doesn’t want to become involved in a grab and grappling fest with the much bigger Fury – that would play right into the English boxer’s hands. Staying mobile could be the key to sapping Fury’s energy. If this is indeed Usyk’s plan for Saturday, then he will need to stick with it for the duration. With his excellent concentration levels, this shouldn’t be a problem.

Something Else Which Could Help Usyk 

Readers who follow boxing closely will remember that this bout was supposed to take place on February 17. Two weeks prior to that date, the fight was postponed due to Fury suffering a cut above his right eye while sparring. Pictures of the injury revealed it to be a deep cut which required stitches. Will that area have healed sufficiently? Will Usyk target that area?

It’s guaranteed he will. Usyk is a southpaw, which means his powerful left hand, when it lands on Fury’s head, should be connecting around the area of the scar tissue. The last time Fury fought a southpaw was Otto Wallin in 2019. Despite winning that night, Fury had some issues with Wallin and was cut horrifically above his right eye. It was an injury which required 47 stitches. Usyk’s southpaw skills would be problematic enough. Add in the question over Fury’s right eye, Usyk’s movement, speed, fearlessness, mental strength, and confidence, and there is a clear path to victory for the Ukrainian in Riyadh on Saturday night.

Usyk has a genuine chance of being crowned undisputed heavyweight champion this weekend.

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