Promoter Eddie Hearn is picking Oleksandr Usyk to defeat Tyson Fury in nine days on December 21st in their second fight in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, live on DAZN. Hearn says he’d like Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs) to win, but he just can’t see the 36-year-old doing it unless he does something “extraordinary.”
Fury looked lost by the eighth round in their first fight on May 18th and needed help from the referee to avert being knocked out in the ninth round by Usyk.
Even Fury admits that he was lucky last time to survive, but that luck may run this time. There will be a different referee on December 21st. If Fury can’t handle the heavy shots from Usyk, that’ll be it for him.
Hearn’s Prediction
“I think it’s difficult for anybody to pick Tyson Fury to win the fight with a level head. I think it’s going to be an incredibly close fight. I think the last one was as well,” Hearn said on talkSPORT Boxing, siding with unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk to defeat Tyson Fury on December 21st.
“But I just think with what we saw from Usyk in the first fight, with his ability to digest information, I think it’s very difficult to pick against him.
“I think he’s [Fury] capable of winning. I think he’s going to have to do something extraordinary, which we’ve seen him do before. It’s very difficult to not pick Oleksandr Usyk in this fight,” said Hearn.
It’s so obvious that Fury doesn’t have the boxing skills to deal with the movement, sharp punches, and the defensive ability of Usyk in this rematch. Usyk is so much smarter and physically fit. If it were just a situation where Oleksandr only had the fitness advantage, you could argue that Fury would win due to his size and intelligence, which make up what he lacks. However, Usyk has the fitness and the ring IQ.
That’s all he needs for him to beat Fury, who doesn’t look like the same fighter that fought Deontay Wilder three times. Fury doesn’t even look like the same fighter that knocked out Dillian Whyte in the sixth round 2 1/2 years ago on April 23, 2022. That guy doesn’t exist anymore; hence, his last two performances against Usyk and Francis Ngannou.