5 fights to watch before Fury vs Usyk 2

In the most anticipated fight of 2020, Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder fought for the second time after their controversial draw in 2018. This fight had a totally different complexion to the previous and was one of Tyson Fury’s most dominant career performances. 

Looking back at this fight could be a useful reference point because of the circumstances of the rematch and the adjustments Fury made to be able to dominate Deontay Wilder.

In their first meeting, Fury boxed as we had become accustomed to, light on his feet, with plenty of feinting and counter shots off the back foot. This looked like enough to beat Wilder on the night, but along the way, Fury got dropped twice, which swayed the judges to give the split draw. 

Fury made the decision to change his coaching team for the rematch, heading to Detroit and the Kronk Gym, where he would train under ‘Sugar’ Hill Steward. 

Fury came into the fight at 275lbs, 19lbs (9kgs) heavier than the first, and this was for a reason. In the first round, Fury pounced onto the front foot and looked set on his feet, looking for long, heavy straights to keep Wilder on the back foot. 

Wilder fought valiantly, but after being dropped in the third round, he offered little resistance. Fury was bombarding him from distance, then throwing his weight onto the much lighter man to wear down his already shaky legs.

This change, to a bullying and brutish style, could be an adjustment that Fury may look to make again for his rematch with Usyk, as similar to Wilder, he tried to outbox his opponent and did not get the result. Maybe the only way for Fury to get the better of Usyk is to use his huge size and weight advantage to smother the champion.

In his second fight as a heavyweight, the former undisputed cruiserweight champion took on Derek Chisora, the much beloved British fighter, who would prove to be a hugely educational opponent for Usyk, who was learning the ways of the heavyweight. 

Usyk was still in the process of growing into a heavyweight, weighing in at only 217.5lbs, nearly 40lbs lighter than Chisora. 

‘War’ Chisora made it clear from the outset what his intentions were and chased after the Ukrainian, throwing wild looping shots, grabbing, smothering and roughing up Usyk as much as he could. 

The Olympic champion was immediately on his bike, looking rushed and disturbed by the unwavering forward march of the veteran heavyweight. Chisora looked unbothered by the power coming back at him and had the ascendancy of the first few rounds, alerting those watching to a potential vulnerability of Usyk to physicality and a bit of dirty boxing. 

Although this potential weakness is something to take away from the fight as a possible path to victory for Fury, it is also important to recognise that Usyk won this fight unanimously and it is therefore even more important to recognise how. 

After the initial struggle, Usyk showed why he was one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, picking off the North London brawler with lightning-fast combinations and pinpoint accuracy. Chisora threw the kitchen sink at Usyk and although he seemed occasionally off balance and uncomfortable, he calmly picked off the raging bull for the remaining rounds. 

This demonstrated his incredible adaptability and ability to study his opponents under fire and make informed adjustments to his game, allowing him to unlock their defences and win. 

Maybe Usyk was telling the truth, and he doesn’t need to make any adjustments in camp because he is more than capable of making the necessary changes in the ring using his once-in-a-generation boxing brain.

Next is when the Ukrainian dethroned the unified champion, Anthony Joshua, in what many consider Usyk’s most impressive heavyweight performance predating the Fury fight. 

What this fight provides in terms of insight into what Usyk is capable of is probably the most revealing he has had in the heavyweight division. He had yet to impress on his foray into the blue-ribbon division, with two uncomfortable-looking victories over Chazz Witherspoon and Derek Chisora, many felt he had more to prove before a shot at a world title. 

But from the first bell until the last, he was simply too good for Joshua and comfortably outpointed the Brit. He showed temperance, genius-level boxing IQ and an endless reservoir of stamina that Joshua could not compete with. 

Usyk had Joshua baffled. His constant upper body movement and feinting had the champion chasing shadows while getting tagged with shots from every angle. At any point, he showed he could use his world-class footwork to get inside, outside, underneath, and around anything Joshua had to throw at him.

This performance was an eye-opener for any potential opponent of Usyk.  It showed that he had stamina beyond any other heavyweight, and if you let him take you into the championship rounds, he will more than likely bring a deluge of punches as if it was the first.

It is worth noting that this fight bears similarities to the Fury fight in terms of the structure of the fight. Usyk took the early rounds, survived a resurgence in the middle rounds and nearly finished proceedings in the late rounds in both fights. 

Is this the formula for victory?

In what has been the defining moment of Tyson Fury’s career so far, the “Gypsy King” travelled to Dusseldorf, Germany and de-throned the most dominant heavyweight champion of the 21st century, Wladimir Klitschko. 

Many people, including Fury himself, have postulated that the version of the “Gypsy King” that became the unified heavyweight champion in 2015 would be more than good enough to beat Oleksandr Usyk. So, what was it about this world-conquering performance that led to its mythologisation by so many? Can Fury roll back the years and tap into this to defeat Usyk?

Under the lights and as the underdog, Tyson Fury had probably the most Tyson Fury-esque performance we have ever seen. He totally mystified the towering Ukrainian who was very well-educated both in pugilism and, of course, academia as ‘Dr Steelhammer’, but no amount of studying could have prepared him for the awkward and unorthodox style of the giant Englishman.

Fury bounced around the ring, flicking out jabs and looping hybrid straight right hands to the side of Klitschko’s head and then ducking away at an angle which would, at times, leave the champion facing completely the wrong direction. Fury’s ability to punch whilst moving laterally and his fascinating switch-hitting allowed him to create and close down space inside the ring like no one Klitschko had ever faced. 

The mastery of footwork and angle changes displayed created a lot of success in the fight for Fury. The common denominator of this success was that Fury always had space behind him to work in, whether that was counter shots on the back foot or dropping back out of range or away at an angle after a combination. 

If Fury can find a way to nullify or resist the front foot pressure of Usyk that will inevitably come by using his lateral footwork and ability to punch on the move, he will be able to create that space for himself to work. All without having his back against the ropes, which should be a recipe for success should he decide to not try to overwhelm Usyk with physicality and instead remain confident in his boxing ability.

With both men recently claiming that they will not change anything about their approach heading into the rematch, their first meeting should be the best reference point for insight into how the rematch may go or any changes they might make despite their reluctance. Therefore, a more detailed look is required at where both fighters did well and where there could be room for adjustments.

Usyk had success pushing the “Gypsy King” back, with plenty of upper body movement and changing the levels with his shots in classic Usyk fashion. He capitalised on Fury’s languid defence by throwing a straight left to the body, which he would then use as a misdirect to draw Fury’s defence away from his chin, opening the gap for a looping left hook, which was nearly the decisive punch in the ninth round.

Usyk has one of the best boxing brains in the world, and he used it to great effect against Fury to wear him down and reveal gaps in his defence. In the early rounds, he established his power and angles to put Fury on the back foot, dictating the pace of the fight. The rounds most people said Fury had success in were also Usyk forcing Fury to work by walking him down and feinting without a huge punch output.

The moments of the most success for Fury were those in which he decided to take the front foot. Sometimes, it would be off his back foot, springing forward with long shovelling hooks to the body of Usyk, and other times, it would be short periods of ring control, keeping Usyk on the end of his long jab and landing hurtful uppercuts to body and head.  

This front foot control revealed a small gap in Usyk’s armour, such that when he was put under pressure, he would retreat into a squared-off high guard. Fury exploited this excellently with body shots around the elbows and uppercuts through the middle of the guard whilst occupying his hands with the jab.

Fury suffered the most in this fight when he allowed Usyk to come to him and initiate the exchanges. The angles and level changes the Ukrainian throws with make it near impossible to defend and then counter off, which led to Fury getting hit with eye-catching shots on the ropes. 

Should Fury be able to employ the perfect mixture of physicality and educated boxing, attacking the body of Usyk, it would seem, based on previous fights, that he should stand a better chance in their rematch. But if he arrives with an unchanged game plan, then it is hard to see the rematch going any differently than the first.