Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk’s undisputed heavyweight championship fight is two months away on May 18th, but fans are doubtful that the Gypsy King will make it to that date without suffering another injury, resulting in another postponement of this fight.
Some fans feel Fury is just flat-out scared of Usyk and what he’ll do to his career when they meet.
Another injury-related postponement by Fury would be a disaster for the Saudis, who are paying both heavyweights massive money for their May 18th clash. His Excellency Turki Alalshikh has guaranteed both fighters a $10 million penalty if one pulls out.
Even with that penalty, it’s just a drop in the bucket for the incredibly wealthy Fury’s massive fortune. He’s the equivalent of the John D. Rockefeller of boxing.
Injury? Or Fear Factor?
Unfortunately, there’s still a lot of doubt about what happened with WBC heavyweight champion Fury (34-0-1, 24 KOs) for the original February 17th date of his fight with Usyk, coming up what many view as a convenient cut over his right eye.
Before Fury’s injury, there were rumors of him getting dropped twice by former IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia and battered by other sparring partners.
The video that supposedly showed the instance where the cut occurred failed to disprove fans’ belief in Fury’s eye problem. The grainy, old-looking video did not show blood or a close-up of Fury’s eye.
Fury’s Win-Win Situation
People smelled something fishy going on with the eye injury, and they’re still highly distrustful about it. Obviously, with Fury looking fat, out of shape, and rumored to be getting bounced around during sparring sessions, having an additional two months of training time would help him.
The way Fury looked, he would have been asking for trouble if he fought Usyk (21-0, 14 KOs) on February 17th. But with the additional three months of training time to trim off the fat and roll back the years, Fury has a better chance of winning.
It’s not a great chance, but it’s a better one with the extra time he has to get in shape and sharpen up.