Tyson Fury has been told he was fortunate not to be knocked out by Oleksandr Usyk during their first meeting.
The pair originally exchanged blows back in May, where Usyk clinched a momentous split-decision win in Riyadh, becoming the undisputed heavyweight champion for the first time since Lennox Lewis in 1999. The turning point of the fight was in the ninth round; Fury was in control at first, but then Usyk staged an astounding rally, nearly flooring him if not for the ropes, prompting the referee to count.
‘The Gypsy King’ seemed to falter, barely making it to the end of the match. Sharing insights with Razed, former world champion Anthony Crolla reflected on how Fury may have lost focus after a strong start, saying: “I might contradict myself here but what a lot of people need to think is, it looked like Tyson had that fight won by the halfway stage.”
“He got complacent and switched off, got caught, and probably didn’t have respect for Oleksandr Usyk’s power with him being the smaller guy. I think he has to learn from those lessons because Usyk is a future Hall of Famer and is one of the pound-for-pound greats but one of his biggest strengths is his versatility. He always finds a way to win and with that, he needs so much respect but Tyson switching off allowed that to happen. If Tyson had remained focused, then I don’t think that would have happened.”
In the run-up to the highly anticipated fight next weekend, Crolla, aged 38, insists Fury must acknowledge Usyk’s increasing strength in the heavyweight division. “Tyson has got to be a lot more respectful of the power Oleksandr Usyk looks to be developing as a heavyweight,” he remarked.
“You have to make Oleksandr Usyk the favourite for the moments that happened in the first fight. I’m glad the referee kept the fight going after round nine, but Tyson was very fortunate not to have been stopped because a lot of people would’ve been stopped. The referee was maybe reminded of the recovery power of Tyson, and it was right to do but a lot of people who I respect say it would have got stopped if it was anyone else.”
As the much-anticipated rematch closes in, ‘The Gypsy King’ Tyson Fury has vowed not to let the outcome be determined by the judges. Speaking with Undisputed, Fury declared his aggressive strategy: “I’m going to go in there with destroy mode,” expressing a marked shift from his previous cautious approach.
“Last time I went to box him, I was being cautious… Anybody can get caught as we have seen in a lot of these heavyweight fights. But this time I’m not going for a points decision. I’m going to knock that motherf***er out. For the first time in years, I’m going in there as a challenger, not a champion. And I believe that I’m better as a challenger, always, because I’ve got that goal of achieving something and it’s giving me a fire underneath.”
