Fury vs Usyk Feature: Tyson Fury In Focus

A trilogy with Deontay Wilder – two wins, one draw – are Fury’s most memorable bouts. The second bout destruction of Wilder, which saw the English boxer capture the WBC title he still holds, was Fury at his absolute peak. Compare that to his last outing, where he looked like he hadn’t trained to face novice boxer Francis Ngannou in a ten-round contest. Fury hit the deck that night in October and had to grind out a split-decision victory. These two bouts highlight the dichotomy of Tyson Fury – well prepared and focused, he looks unbeatable; poorly prepared and out of shape, he looks clumsy and short of timing and power – vulnerable against anyone, even a boxer on debut.

Having seen a trim and healthy-looking Fury arrive in Saudi Arabia last week, one assumes he has trained diligently for what he recognizes as the toughest bout of his career.

Fury’s Keys To Victory

Fury must put his previously mentioned physical advantages to good use to win on Saturday. Fury knows that Usyk is unlikely to be intimidated by being shorter and lighter, so he needs to establish himself as the alpha early in Saturday’s fight and not give Usyk any foothold in the contest.

One way to do this would be to employ his 85-inch reach to keep the fight at range. Be active with the jab and discourage Usyk from getting close enough to land by strongly repelling him with his long left. Of course, Usyk being as good as he is means he will find a way to get close, so in these instances, Fury will need to make things ugly and tie the smaller boxer up. Prolong the holding as much as he can get away with it and lean on him to zap Usyk’s strength. This tactic might make for an untidy spectacle, but Fury won’t care if it helps him succeed.

As well as leaning on Usyk up close, Fury would be well advised to throw some shots at the Ukrainian’s body. The last time Usyk fought, he did look a little uncomfortable when opponent Daniel Dubois targeted his body. Fury has the fluid boxing skills to throw and land more regularly than Dubois. As good as Usyk’s movement is, Fury is the one heavyweight who can get close to him in that department. For his size, Fury makes good use of his head movement and feints, which would enable Fury to get Usyk into defensively vulnerable positions and then counter him with power shots.

Style Warning: It Could Be A Stinker

With plenty of tools at his disposal and more than one way to win the fight, the chances are that Fury will use a variety of ring tactics to become the undisputed champion on Saturday night. The method he will use most frequently though is grabbing and clinching with Usyk. In this respect, the bout could resemble Fury’s aforementioned victory over Klitschko in 2015.

If he can get away with it, Fury could out-jab Usyk for one minute in each round, then spend the remainder of the round grappling and holding and shoving the smaller boxer back into the ropes. It wouldn’t be pretty, but it would be effective. It would also limit the potential for Usyk to inflict any damage on the recently cut area above Fury’s right eye. That has to be a concern for Fury heading into the bout.

Some Other Factors

Like Usyk, Fury carries tremendous confidence and self-belief to the ring. Fury doesn’t believe he can be beaten. No matter how the fight is going, Fury always shows plenty of heart and determination. He has been in trouble before – down heavily against Wilder in their first bout, cut badly against Otto Wallin in 2019, and hitting the floor against Ngannou last time out whilst underprepared – are three examples of this. On each occasion Fury was able to will himself to get up or keep going to get to the end of the fight. His powers of recovery are impressive.

In past bouts, we have seen Fury lose concentration and showboat. This has led to him being caught by punches he would normally avoid. With the shape he’s in for this bout and shutting down his social media accounts during training camp, Fury looks to be 100% focused for the duration against Usyk. He won’t be giving an opponent he genuinely respects any free shots at his head or body. When bringing all these factors together, it is probably correct that Fury is favored to win on Saturday night. The old ‘good big man’ clichè may well be aired in the post-fight analysis.

However it plays out, the victor will need to work incredibly hard to have his hand raised on Saturday night. Arguments can be made back and forth for each boxer to win the fight. In a fight of this magnitude, that’s the way it should be. We have waited 25 years to crown an undisputed champion in the heavyweight division. For Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk, the waiting is almost over.

May the best man win on May 18.