We are still awaiting conformation, as crazy as it may be, as to whether or not Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury are going to fight (see article below – will the April 29 deadline set by Team-Usyk be met or not?) But in the meantime, here’s an interesting article about Carl Froch and his theory on the Uysk-Derek Chisora fight.
This was Usyk’s second fight at heavyweight, and his first test (begging the pardon of Chazz Witherspoon). And the 12 round decision win Usyk scored over the tough as boots Chisora is a performance plenty of people point to in making their argument that Usyk will not be able to beat Fury; that Chisora managed to rough Usyk up and win some rounds to make the fight close therefore the far bigger, heavier, better Fury will have his way with Usyk.
Point taken. But Froch says Usyk fought in second gear all night that night, on purpose. Why? Because, with future foe Anthony Joshua watching, Usyk basically didn’t want to scare AJ off. This is what Froch had to say about the fight and his theory, on his YouTube channel.
“I’ve got a theory about the Chisora fight. I was there at ringside watching and learning about [Usyk.],” Froch said. “I think that night against Chisora, he just took his time. He was playing mind games with his opponents. He knew Anthony Joshua was watching, and he was thinking to himself, ‘if I show all my toolbox in this fight, I’m gonna scare him off.’ So I think he never got out of second gear with Chisora. I’m not taking anything from Chisora – he’ll go in with anyone. He gave Usyk a hard fight. But I think Usyk took his time, just used his jab, just moved around, certainly didn’t get past third gear, got the comfortable win on points. I think AJ will have thought, ‘I can beat this guy, he’s struggling up at heavyweight.’”
If Froch is right, Uysk’s plan worked. We saw Usyk raise his game in the first fight with AJ, beating him quite comfortably. While Usyk repeated his win in a closer affair in the rematch. The question now is, has Usyk got any more to his game that he has not yet revealed? Can Usyk ramp it up another notch in the fight with Fury, if it actually happens? Usyk is a fascinating fighter, that much is clear.
What about YOU guys – do you agree with Froch’s theory on how Usyk purposely held back his best stuff in the Chisora fight, or is this giving the Ukrainian southpaw just a little too much credit?
