By Scott Gilfoid: Eddie Hearn says he thinks WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury simply isn’t “physically ready” to fight the highly talented, technically, fast & mobile IBF, WBA & WBO champion Oleksandr Usyk in just six weeks on April 29th at Wembley Stadium in London, England, as Tyson’s promoters want.
Hearn feels it’s not a case of there not being enough time to promote the Fury-Usyk undisputed heavyweight clash, but rather the issue is the short period for Fury (33-0-1, 24 KOs) to “physically” prepare for what will be a much more trying fight than the ones that he’s had during his career, particularly during his short reign as the WBC champion.
Aside from Fury’s fight against Deontay Wilder, he’s had two stationary lumps in Derek Chisora & Dillian Whyte, and those guys were journeyman-level, painfully slow, limited heavyweights that were easy to defeat. They had zero speed and mobility, and their ring IQ was nowhere to be found.
Tyson Fury NOT “physically” ready
Fury has really slowed down and put on weight as he’s hit his mid-30s, and he’s not the gazelle that dazzled the faded, trainer-less 39-year-old Wladimir Klitschko in 2015 in the absolute prime of his career in Dusseldorf, Germany.
The 2022-2023 version of Fury is old, flabby, VERY heavy, and no longer capable of moving around the ring due to the combination of age & weight.
“I don’t think you need the time to promote it. It’s a big enough fight, but time to get ready,” said Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn to Boxing Social about the Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk fight that the Gyspy King’s promoters have pegged for April 29th at Wembley Stadium in London, England.
“Tyson Fury physically doesn’t look ready for six weeks,” Hearn continued, nailing it on the head why there’s been a delay on Tyson’s part in getting the fight done against Usyk.
This writer 100% agrees with Mr. Hearn. Fury looks badly out of shape, with his midsection filled with a load of stubborn fat that isn’t going to budge in six weeks of training. Heck, Fury will still be out of shape after nine weeks.
“He has never done really, and he’s proved everybody wrong before. So maybe he takes the fight. I think when you see a tweet like you saw tonight [Oleksander saying the “clock is ticking” for when Fury must agree to the deal], it’s not a good sign, but anything’s possible. I hope it gets made,” said Hearn of the Fury vs. Usyk fight.
Hearn has a glass-half-full optimistic outlook on the Fury fight, but it doesn’t look good.
With all the roadblocks Fury has set in front of Team Usyk to try and make this fight, it terribly obvious that he doesn’t fancy the fight and is literally begging Oleksandr to give up and walk away.
“Probably, but we’ve been there before,” said Hearn when asked if this is the only opportunity for there to be opportunity for an undisputed heavyweight champion to emerge in the near future.
