In one corner, there is a giant standing tall at 6ft 9in; charismatic, passionate, and with the heart of a warrior, he has overcome every challenge and hurdle placed in front of him. In the other corner, there is an enigmatic, mystifying veteran of the ring.
Iron-willed and steel-gazed, he is only focused on one thing: victory. Nothing will come between him and the referee raising his hand.
What does this mean for the heavyweight division? When the dust settles, one will claim his rightful place amongst the greatest boxers ever and claim the undisputed title. The heavyweight division will have a king. Upon a closer look at these two fighters, it is just as confusing as looking at them from afar. It is a fight that will crown the first undisputed champion since Lennox Lewis. Who will win? This article will explore the strengths and weaknesses of both fighters.
Tyson Fury(34–0–1, 24 KOs)
Strengths
Reach: With a reach of 85 inches, it is incredibly easy for Fury to pick his opponents off easily, and he has used this to perfection many times. His fights against Dillian Whyte and Dereck Chisora are great examples of this. A 7-inch reach advantage over Usyk suggests he may use this to keep Usyk at bay and not allow him to get comfortable.
Switch-hitter: Fury is able to fight in both the orthodox and southpaw stances, which confuses his opponents and can make it hard to read what his next move will be due to the unpredictability of being able to fight in both stances. Dillian Whyte tried to fight Fury whilst in the southpaw stance but found this unable to work due to Fury understanding the complexity of both stances.
Psychological warfare: Fury is known for his taunting and mind games, even going so far as to unnerve Wladimir Klitschko before their fight. He has done some very dramatic things, such as dressing up as Batman and fighting the “Joker.” He has gotten into the minds of boxers who he is not fighting, most notably Anthony Joshua, who implied that Fury’s “bodybuilder” jibe may have gotten to him. Ahead of the greatest fight of his career, will Fury use these mind games to succeed against Usyk?
Heart: Fury has a lot of heart, which he has shown on many different occasions by the way he responds to getting hurt or dropped. The most famous example is when he got back up when fighting Deontay Wilder for the first time. This will encourage him to give it his all but can leave him in dangerous positions.
Weakness:
Showboating & arrogance: Fury can tend to showboat, which can lead to him being put in dangerous positions where he can be hurt. His arrogance against Otto Wallin and Steve Cunningham left him either cut and hurt or being dropped. Fury needs to be motivated and dedicated 110%, as his performance against Francis Ngannou left many fans less than impressed, and this may have taken a toll on him mentally.
Lapse of concentration: Fury can tend to lapse in concentration when he is in the ring or have “off-moments” however brief they are. This is most notable in the 1st and 3rd Deontay Wilder fight. This is also notable in the Ngannou fight, where he threw the same 1-2 combination. Throwing the same combination shows a sense of comfortability, which is not what Fury needs if he wants to become undisputed.
Oleksandr Usyk(21-0, 14 KOs)
Strengths
Focus: Usyk is a fighter who always seems unfazed by what is said about him. He only focuses only on the end goal, in this case it is the undisputed championship. He has seemed unbothered by anything that Fury has said about him and has not given much away.
Angles: If Fury has his reach, then Usyk has his angles. Reminiscent of Manny Pacquiao and Lomachenko, Usyk is able to use angles to exploit and outbox his opponents quite cleverly. This leaves them confused about how to approach a fight against Usyk, as he is a master of angles and can quite comfortably fight at any range.
Weaknesses
Body shots: This writer believes that Usyk is susceptible to a body shot, perhaps more than other boxers in the heavyweight division. This was first hinted at by Anthony Joshua at the weigh-in for their first fight and was further exploited by Daniel Dubois in their fight. If you believe that was a low blow, there is still a suspicion that Usyk is weak when hit to the body.
Conclusion: This writer believes that this will be a chess match. Watch out for Usyk to exploit angles early on, land those hard-hitting shots, and move in to finish the fight in the later rounds. Fury will be trying to use his reach and stamina to disable Usyk from coming forward at all. I believe this fight will go to points.