Promoter Frank Warren reportedly sees the Usyk vs. Fury trilogy happening ahead of a clash between Fury and Anthony Joshua, provided the Gypsy King is victorious on December 21st.
Warren’s Prediction
Warren told talkSport that he expects the Usyk-Fury trilogy to occur before a Fury takes on Joshua. It would make sense for Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs) to fight Usyk straightaway in a trilogy if he wins the rematch on December 21st in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. However, Fury is likely to lose that fight.
You can’t fault Warren for thinking positive, but it doesn’t seem likely that Fury will be victorious in the rematch against Usyk. The 36-year-old Gypsy King’s punch resistance, which was never good even in the best of times, looked gone in their first fight on May 18th in Riyadh.
Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) had Fury’s number in their previous fight and was one punch away from knocking him out in the ninth round. Fury’s recent physical appearance suggests that he’s not in the best shape, believing that he can maul his way to victory in the rematch on December 21st.
Fury had packed on a lot of weight, eating in hopes of getting big enough to use his size to manhandle the 220+ lb Usyk the way he did Deontay Wilder in fights # 2 and #3. I don’t see it working in this case because Usyk isn’t Deontay. He’s a much better fighter, and he did not let Fury hold & lean when he attempted to.
During those instances in which Fury tried to grab Usyk, he was hit with short punches and shoved away. Oleksandr was too smart to fall for that simple-minded game plan given to him by his trainer, Sugarhill Steward. If all that’s the main contribution that the Kronk gym-trained Sugarhill could come up with for a game plan, Fury should have dumped that guy a long time ago.
Consequences Of A Fury Loss
If Usyk defeats Fury again, it’s going to be bad for the Gypsy King, and he may need to start thinking about retirement. If Turki Alalshikh is still interested in a fight between Fury and Joshua, it’ll be a hard sell without Tyson redeeming himself against a world-level contender.
It would be a waste of Turki’s money to keep paying Fury loads of dough if he fails a second time against Usyk. What’s the point of keeping Tyson afloat? Given some of these other guys a chance, like Martin Bakole and Daniel Dubois. They’re not clowns outside of the ring like Fury, but man, they are so much more talented inside the ring and provide real entertainment. Fury has never entertained inside the ring.
Joshua, 35, was destroyed by Daniel Dubois in a fifth-round knockout on September 21st, and he looked horrible in that fight.