Carl Froch believes Tyson Fury’s advancing age, loss of mobility, and the punishment he’s taking in his fights suggest that he can no longer fight at the high level he did in the past.
Froch feels that the 35-year-old Fury (34-0-1, 24 KOs) won’t make it through the five-fight plan he discussed for his next five fights. Carl doesn’t view that as realistic, not with the guys on Fury’s list.
Fury came close to losing his last fight against former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou last October, and he likely would have been beaten on that night if he’d been fighting a real boxer like Zhilei Zhang, Jared Anderson, or Filip Hrgovic.
Froch notes that Fury is getting hit a lot more than he did in the past, and he says he does not use as many feints in his fights. Fury is fighting IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk next on May 18th, and he might lose to him. If it’s a bad loss, Fury could hang up his gloves unless he’s lured back with the Saudi money.
Structural Decline or Adaptive Strategy?
“He’s getting hit a lot more now, and when you start getting hit at that weight, you have problems,” said Carl Froch to talkSPORT Boxing about the 35-year-old Tyson Fury slowing down, getting more due to his advancing age, and not the fighter he was years ago.
“Are you saying structurally he can’t do it anymore,” said Simon Jordan about Fury.
“He can’t do it anymore,” said Froch. Now, he’s sitting flat-footed, getting hit with more shots. He’s getting on with the 36-year-old, getting bigger and heavier.
Fury Slowing Down
“The desires are not there. We saw that. Does he have five more fights left with these top-level contenders? I’d say no. I’d make Tyson Fury the favorite. Not as much of a favorite as I would have six months ago before he fought Ngannou, but still a favorite,” said Froch when asked his thoughts on a fight between Fury and Anthony Joshua.
“I can’t make that assessment based on his [Joshua] last four or five fights. If AJ fights Tyson Fury next, I think Fury wins. If AJ fights Usyk, we know what happens. He can’t beat Usyk,” said Froch.
“Fury can’t move around on his feet anymore because he’s 35, and he carries around too much weight,” said Spencer Oliver.
