JUST seven months after Oleksandr Usyk beat Tyson Fury via split decision to become undisputed heavyweight champion, the pair go at it again in Riyadh with three of the four belts on the line. But with this rematch looking every bit as hard to call as the initial fight, we take a look at the keys to victory for both men.
OLEKSANDR USYK – KEYS TO VICTORY
CONFIDENCE
Before the first fight, Usyk believed he could beat Fury. This time around, he will climb into the ring knowing he can. He had also found himself significantly behind on the cards after seven rounds before completely taking over down the stretch to win via split.
Not only does he have the confidence gleaned from winning in the first place but also knows he won from a pretty desperate position the first time around. If he can get himself in front early on this time, much like he did twice against Anthony Joshua, he knows he has the ability to control the fight and win clearly.
STAYING POWER
May 18 really was a fight of two halves and it was Usyk who closed the show in more formidable fashion. Two of the judges gave him a clean sweep of rounds 8 through to 11 and, in fact, so clear was his lead that he lost the final round on all three cards but still won the fight. He also outpunched Fury in each of the final five rounds, according to Compubox, which hints at superior fitness down the stretch.
MOBILITY
It is not ideal for Usyk to be fighting a man who will likely outweigh him by 40lbs on the night. What it means is that he will have to stay typically fleet of foot, moving in and out but crucially around the target too, in order to keep Fury guessing where he is. The Gypsy King is known for his movement despite his size but it will suit Usyk to be the mover in this fight or risk getting hit clean by the biggest heavyweight he has ever faced.
Usyk has to get close in order to have any chance of landing on a man with such long levers but he cannot afford to dwell in the pocket, where Fury can lean on him and attempt to outmuscle him. It will require a gargantuan physical effort from Usyk not unlike the first fight, when he was totally exhausted by the end of the fight.
TYSON FURY – KEYS TO VICTORY
KNOWLEDGE
Tyson Fury might have looked on the very brink of being stopped in the ninth round of their initial fight – but he did against Deontay Wilder too. And the fact is that every time Fury has had a rematch in his career he has won by knockout. First John McDermott gave him fits in 2009 before Fury stopped him in nine the following year.
He and Dereck Chisora went the distance back in 2011 but Fury has since stopped him twice. Then, most notably, Fury was milliseconds from being stopped by Deontay Wilder but got up, secured a draw, then hammered the Alabama man in the rematch. History tells us Fury has the ability to learn from the initial fight and find a breakthrough in the second.
CHIN
Fury has made no secret of the fact he believes he will carry a psychological edge into the ring on Saturday night due to the fact that Usyk hit him with a series of unanswered shots in that ninth round but still could not put him away. In Fury’s eyes, he has taken Usyk’s very best and still did not go down, although the ropes – and the bell to end the round – did help him somewhat.
Even so, there is no denying the strength of Fury’s chin and his quite miraculous powers of recovery, whether he goes down or not. Usyk is not a murderous puncher and is obviously the smaller man in this fight and if Fury decides to walk through whatever he has to offer to apply the pressure, then it could be a long, hard night for the champion.
FITTER AND STRONGER?
Fury and Usyk were initially supposed to fight back in February until a nasty cut above the Englishman’s eye forced a postponement. And, although he refuses to use it as an excuse, the wound will have had an effect, however small, on Fury’s preparations for the rearranged date.
It has been suggested that he was unable to spar with his usual frequency due to the cut but, with no similar damage this time around, it might just be a more finely tuned Fury that turns up in Riyadh. And, in a fight with such small margins, that could make a big difference this time around.
