Gareth A. Davies wants WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury to apply pressure on IBF/WBA/WBO champ Oleksandr Usyk when they meet on February 17th for the undisputed championship in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Davies says Fury must fight the way he did in his second & third fights with Deontay Wilder when he used a lot of mauling to defeat him.
If Usyk was willing to comply by standing perfectly still, Fury could use his 270+ lb size to wear him down with wrestling & leaning, but that’s not realistic.
That was a different situation for Fury because Wilder stood stationary in front of him in grabbing range for his grappling, leaning, low blows & rabbit punches to be utilized with expertise.
That style won’t work against Usyk (21-0, 14 KOs) because he’ll be moving and won’t allow Fury to have a punching bag.
What Fury needs to defeat Usyk:
1. Change trainers
2. Lose weight
3. Work on cardio
4. Stop mauling
5. Box
6. Diet
Fury vs. Usyk could be a draw
“John [Fury] always speaks from the heart and is very open about these things,” said Gareth A. Davies to Boxing King Media, reacting to Tyson Fury’s dad, John Fury, saying he doesn’t like the current fighting style that he’s seeing from him.
“My instinct is that first fight is going to be a draw, and they’re going to go at it later in the year in a second fight,” said Gareth about Fury and Oleksandr Usyk.
There’s little chance that the Fury-Usyk fight will be scored a draw. If the judges in Saudi Arabia weren’t interested in giving Francis Ngannou a draw in his fight with Fury, they won’t do Usyk any favors. Fury is the A-side, which means that Usyk may need a knockout for him to get the win.
“I feel it’s going to be a really close, fistic chess match,” said Gareth. “I think they’ll be inseparable, and I do think it’ll be a controversial draw the first time around. It’s just an instinct. I might be completely wrong, but that’s the way I’m seeing it.
“I think the style he showed in the second and third Wilder fights is the style that I’d like to see him fight Usyk with. I’d like to see him take it to Usyk.”
That style that Fury used in the second and third Wilder fights will only work on him and lesser heavyweights. Fury can’t use that style against Usyk or a half dozen other heavyweights.
It’s surprising that Fury is still using that same tired old game plan that was taught to him by SugarHill for his second fight with Wilder. That was supposed to have been a style used in just one fight, but Fury just seems stuck on dumb.
“I said to him [Lennox Lewis], ‘What would you have done with Usyk?’ And he said, ‘Are you kidding me? I’d have rushed him and beaten him up and stopped him.’ That’s what he believes Tyson should do against Oleksandr Usyk, which is to be aggressive.
“Don’t sit on the back foot against him. Be aggressive; take it to him. There’s a blueprint there for being more aggressive against Usyk in the heavyweight division. You’ve got to watch those angles for that left hand he creates, those counters,” said Davies.
Fury can be aggressive all he wants, but he’s too fat, slow & middle-aged for him to have success fighting that way against Usyk because he’ll neutralize that approach.
Does Tyson need a new trainer?
“He is still a dangerous foe for Tyson Fury,” Gareth said. “SugarHill has been with Tyson Fury for five fights now? Four knockouts and a points victory, even though. Even though the fight against Francis Ngannou didn’t go that well.
“They could easily call other people in. No one springs to mind at the moment [that could help train Fury]. John is there, and SugarHill is there. His team around him knows his stuff. Ben Davison isn’t available. That’s fascinating that he’s working with Anthony Joshua.”
It’s unbelievable that Gareth can’t mouth the words that need to be said about Fury. He needs to dump SugarHill, get a new trainer, and change his fighting style if he wants to defeat Usyk.
“I think he’s [Fury] find as he is. Nothing is particularly broken. He just had a very poor night against Francis Ngannou,” said Gareth. “He knows what he’s got to do against Oleksandr Usyk. He’s got to be big, aggressive, use his range, use his size, and take his advantages against Usyk, who is a very elusive, very clever boxer who nicks rounds very cleverly.”
It sounds like Gareth didn’t watch Fury’s last two fights because he’s been showing the same flaws that he did in his fight with journeyman Dereck Chisora as he did against Ngannou. He’s become too one-dimensional with the limp jabbings followed by a good wrestle, and that will never work against Usyk because he’s a mobile heavyweight.
“No, I don’t see anything particularly broken there, but John’s views are always fascinating. They [the Fury’s] know the game inside and out,” said Gareth.
“Even going back to the third fight with Deontay Wilder, John thought Tyson should hang up his gloves and that he had nothing else to prove. I got his point at the time. At that point, Usyk hadn’t beaten Joshua twice.
“John always speaks with great concern about Tyson. He doesn’t want him to be damaged. Tyson took a lot of damage in that third fight with Deontay Wilder. The fight with Francis Ngannou, we know he didn’t look great that night.
“Yes, he may have underestimated Francis Ngannou. It’s one of his poorest performances, yet for many of us, it makes the Usyk more compelling. Yes, he [Fury] is getting older. Yes, he’s been involved in the sport a very long time. I understand John’s concerns.
“I do think from a purist point of view, a legacy point of view, I think the Usyk fight is important. He also said he doesn’t have time to get ready. That was one of his comments as well. I cannot see them having announced ‘The Ring of Fire’ for February 17th in Riyadh, that they delay the fight any further,” said Gareth.
Is John Fury trying to get into Tyson’s head?
“We had the press conference, the fight is signed. I think John is just talking out loud, but maybe it’s his way of getting into Tyson’s head to get into camp and be ready,” said Davies. “I think there is enough time for him to get ready, and maybe it’s his wake-up call to wake up his son to ‘Come on, get in there, get yourself ready for the big fight.”
John sees things out they really are with Fury, and he’s NOT trying to get into his head to mess with him. He can see that Fury’s current mauling style taught to him by SugarHill is pure junk, just journeyman-level trash style, and he’s getting hit a lot using it.
John didn’t come right out and say it, but his comments have to be viewed as wanting Fury to change out his training team, starting with SugarHill, and get someone in there who can turn things around.
Tyson is looking old and taking more punishment than he used to. The only reason he’s gotten away with it is that his opposition has been beyond awful, fighting Dillian Whyte, Dereck Chisora, Deontay Wilder and Francis Ngannou.
“John is a big sage. I know he has his moments where he goes crazy on stage, and sells fights, and is a big figure in the heavyweight industry and obviously around his sons Roman and Tommy,” said Gareth. “But he speaks a lot of sense, and he’s a man who knows the fight industry and boxing industry inside out.
“He knows his onions, and for him to be saying that, I think Tyson needs to get his game plan right, get his team right, and get everything right for this fight with Oleksandr Usyk on February 17th,” said Gareth.
