Tyson Fury looked like a weathered grandpa in his last fight. He shuffled around the ring, got battered by a total newcomer to the sport last October, and was saved by the judges in Saudi Arabia.
Fury’s Got the ‘Old Man Shuffle’
Fury may need to face the music on May 18th that Father Time has caught up to him when he battles champion Oleksandr Usyk. This is a put-up or shut-up moment for Fury, and if he loses here, he may need to shuffle into retirement.
His Excellency is talking about wanting to do another 10 fights with him, but he may quickly change his mind after watching Fury’s form against Usyk.
In Gypsy King’s last two fights, his movement is like arthritis in his legs, and he gives off grandpa vibes. I just wonder if those three fights with Deontay Wilder have caught up to him.
Those headshots that Fury ate against Deontay could be what turned his legs into jelly permanently. There’s no undoing what Wilder did to Fury with those brutal sledgehammer blows he hit him with.
WBC heavyweight champion Fury (34-0-1, 24 KOs) has lost some pounds since, but there is no way for him to hide the fact that he looks ancient, and that ain’t good, given that he’s taking on IBF/WBA/WBO champ Oleksandr Usyk on May 18th in Riyadh.
It’s not looking good for the 35-year-old Fury, who has lost his mobility and is now at the point where his fighting style is limited to throwing a limp punch followed by a dive forward to initiate a mauling.
In contrast, Usyk (21-0, 14 KOs), who is two years older than Fury at 37, looks like a spring chicken in comparison and is aging in reverse like Benjamin Button. It’s weird to compare the two fighters. One looks like he should be for sale in an antique store, looking utterly decrepit, while the other is young, quick, and resembles a gazelle.
Signs of Decline
- Age and wear-and-tear: Fury’s punishment in his three fights with Deontay put a lot of mileage on him. He was also hurt in some of his earlier fights in his career, and he took some big shots in his fight against Wladimir Klitschko.
- Performance against Ngannou: Tyson moved like a frozen wholly mammoth around the ring, eating big shots from Francis Ngannou. If there was any doubt that Fury had gotten old, that fight showed he ain’t what he once was.
- Physical appearance: The age in Fury’s appearance is impossible to ignore. He appears to be physically a much older person than he was three years ago when he last fought Wilder and was down on the canvas twice from right hands to the head. One of them was a rabbit punch that had Fury down for what many believe was a long count rivaling the Jack Dempsey vs. Gene Tunney controversy.
Usyk: The Reverse-Aging Machine
Oleksandr looks like he’s getting younger, which I know is impossible, but he’s living proof. I think he will box the slow-moving Fury’s head off on May 18th and dominate him to be crowned the king of the heavyweight division. The speed demon Usyk has found the Fountain of Youth and resisted age.