Tyson Fury will beat Oleksandr Usyk ‘easy’ if he can do this one thing, but it requires total concentration
Billy Joe Saunders has told talkSPORT exactly what Tyson Fury needs to do in order to beat Oleksandr Usyk. The pair are set to rematch on December 21 in Riyadh after the Ukrainian conquered the Brit in their first meeting. Usyk almost stopped Fury in round nine and ultimately beat him on pointsGetty Back in May, Fury seemed to be finding a real rhythm in the fight as it hit the halfway point. He even buckled Usyk’s legs with an uppercut in the sixth. However, in the second half of the contest things took a drastic turn. Usyk broke Fury’s nose with a clean shot in round eight and then famously, in the ninth, hurt him badly. The Brit was pummelled all around the ring and came close to being stopped as the referee called a knockdown in the Ukrainian’s favour. After this, Fury recovered but was unable to regain the rhythm he’d found earlier in the contest. Usyk won via split decision, with most observers believing him to be a clear winner when the final bell rang. According to the scorecards though, the knockdown and subsequent rounds were key in deciding the contest. Reflecting on this, Fury’s long-time friend Saunders told talkSPORT Drive: “Look if Fury does what he needs to do, I’m sure he knows he’s got to train smart now and not hard. “Minus the knockdown last time he won the fight. Saunders and Fury are both travellers and have been friends for a long timeBilly Joe Saunders - Instagram “And how did the knockdown come? He got caught with a shot when he was [switched off]. “You can’t switch off. “One thing with Usyk, that’s why he’s that level, you can’t switch off for a second. “You need to stay engaged and switched on until the final bell. “Because if you’re winning nine rounds, ten rounds, eleven rounds – he’s that good, anything can happen. “So you’ve got to be switched on and I think he wins it easy.” Fury’s target weight for the rematch is already becoming a talking point. According to talkSPORT boxing pundit Gareth A Davies, Fury is aiming to come in around the 19st 7lbs mark (273lbs) – almost a stone heavier than he was for their first fight at 18st 10lbs (262lbs). “When Tyson beat Klitschko nine years ago he was a 27-year-old, very light on his feet, he bamboozled opponents with those telescopic arms, his movement and tying fighters up,” said Davies on talkSPORT Fight Night. “That version went away in the three fights with Deontay Wilder, certainly the second and third fights where he became a bigger hitter at 19 and a half stone. “I’m told internally from his camp that is where they intend him to be for Usyk in this fight, 19 and a half stone.”
Billy Joe Saunders has told talkSPORT exactly what Tyson Fury needs to do in order to beat Oleksandr Usyk.
The pair are set to rematch on December 21 in Riyadh after the Ukrainian conquered the Brit in their first meeting.
Back in May, Fury seemed to be finding a real rhythm in the fight as it hit the halfway point.
He even buckled Usyk’s legs with an uppercut in the sixth.
However, in the second half of the contest things took a drastic turn.
Usyk broke Fury’s nose with a clean shot in round eight and then famously, in the ninth, hurt him badly.
The Brit was pummelled all around the ring and came close to being stopped as the referee called a knockdown in the Ukrainian’s favour.
After this, Fury recovered but was unable to regain the rhythm he’d found earlier in the contest.
Usyk won via split decision, with most observers believing him to be a clear winner when the final bell rang.
According to the scorecards though, the knockdown and subsequent rounds were key in deciding the contest.
Reflecting on this, Fury’s long-time friend Saunders told talkSPORT Drive: “Look if Fury does what he needs to do, I’m sure he knows he’s got to train smart now and not hard.
“Minus the knockdown last time he won the fight.
“And how did the knockdown come? He got caught with a shot when he was [switched off].
“You can’t switch off.
“One thing with Usyk, that’s why he’s that level, you can’t switch off for a second.
“You need to stay engaged and switched on until the final bell.
“Because if you’re winning nine rounds, ten rounds, eleven rounds – he’s that good, anything can happen.
“So you’ve got to be switched on and I think he wins it easy.”
Fury’s target weight for the rematch is already becoming a talking point.
According to talkSPORT boxing pundit Gareth A Davies, Fury is aiming to come in around the 19st 7lbs mark (273lbs) – almost a stone heavier than he was for their first fight at 18st 10lbs (262lbs).
“When Tyson beat Klitschko nine years ago he was a 27-year-old, very light on his feet, he bamboozled opponents with those telescopic arms, his movement and tying fighters up,” said Davies on talkSPORT Fight Night.
“That version went away in the three fights with Deontay Wilder, certainly the second and third fights where he became a bigger hitter at 19 and a half stone.
“I’m told internally from his camp that is where they intend him to be for Usyk in this fight, 19 and a half stone.”
