Former WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury is widely believed to be on the slide heading into his rematch against WBA/WBC/WBO champ Oleksandr Usyk on December 21st in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Fury, 36, has taken a lot of punishment in his three fights against Deontay Wilder and in his previous match against Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) on May 18th, in which he was badly hurt in round nine, and out on his feet after taking a heavy bombardment of punches.
DAZN commentator Ade Oladipo feels that Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs) isn’t at his peak anymore due to the punishment he’s absorbed in the last six years, and he’s picking Usyk to win the rematch. Fury will be well-paid for the rematch and is believed to be getting $100 million for his rematch.
During the kickoff press conference last week, Fury revealed that he has $200 million in the bank down from his 16-year pro career and that he’s fighting for the money now.
“I don’t know. It’s such a good fight. I thought Fury looked a bit leaner, but it’s difficult because of his body shape’s a bit strange,” said Ade Oladipo to Pro Boxing Fans, discussing how Tyson Fury looked during the kickoff press conference with Oleksandr Usyk last week.
Fury had said he wanted to come in heavier for the match, but he looked thin in the upper body during last week’s press conference. It could be that Fury is focusing so much on losing weight that it’s taken away the muscle that he had. He needs to put on the kind of bulk that he had for the second fight with Deontay Wilder on February 22, 2020 because that was when he was at his best.
“Usyk is just on, isn’t he? That Hitman outfit, agent 47, he looked really good. I think AJ now knows he can hurt Fury. Fury now knows if he watched the fight that he can hurt Usyk. I think it’s a toss-up fight again,” said Ade.
“I’ll go Usyk. I went Usyk before, and he won. So, I’m going to go for him, but you never know. It’s not that easy, though,” said Ade when told that Fury can’t let the small man, Usyk, bully him in the ring. “When a small man is that good. When the small man is Oleksandr Usyk, who is one of the best fighters I’ve ever seen, it’s a bit different.
“If we’re being brutally honest, this isn’t peak Fury anymore. This is Fury that is maybe a few years past his peak. I thought the Fury against Wladimir Klitschko was the greatest thing I’ve seen. He’s not that guy anymore,” said Ade.
The version of Fury that beat Wilder in their trilogy match in 2021 would be a big problem for Usyk as well because he was still fighting well back then. He’s suddenly lost something from his game since his clash against Franciso Ngannou last October and looks older as well. Could it be age from Fury enjoying himself in between fights by indulging in food?
“He’s taken a lot of punishment. He took a lot of punishment against Deontay Wilder. He took punishment against Oleksandr Usyk. It will catch up to you. That’s how it works, but Usyk has taken punishment as well. It’s such a good fight, but I’m going to swing to Usyk again, but with no confidence,” said Ade.
It was alarming to see how Usyk hurt Fury because this guy is not considered to be a big puncher, yet he needed to be saved by the referee in round nine after getting hurt. Usyk has already made it clear that he’s going to be looking for a knockout in the rematch.
