Promoter Eddie Hearn expects Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk to use different fight strategies for their DAZN PPV rematch on December 21st than they did in their previous fight.
Of the two heavyweights, unified champion Usyk has a better shot at success with his different approach to the rematch because he’s already made it clear that he’ll be looking to KO Fury. He won’t allow the judges to decide and wind up in the same boat as Francis Ngannou.
A Fragile Target
He already showed that he could hurt him in their first fight, and he knows he can overwhelm him with a barrage of punches. After three wars with Deontay Wilder, Fury’s chin is made of glass. If he gets hit hard by Usyk, who hits harder than many people realize, he could go.
Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs) appears to have put on more size, possibly hoping to recapture his success when he twice defeated Deontay Wilder. Of course, he had a much more limited fighter than what he’ll be dealing with against Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs), who won’t let him maul.
Eddie Hearn: “It looked to me like Fury was starting to get into his groove. The ninth round was one of the most dramatic I’ve ever seen,” said Hearn to DAZN Boxing, talking about the Fury getting hurt by Usyk. “Obviously, the shot that landed, the big left hand, had Fury all over the place. I think both guys will do different things in the second fight. And if the first fight was something to go by, you need to tune in for number two.”
Frank Warren: “He was on the front foot, and he was letting his shots go. He was formidable. He was that much away from the fight being stopped. There’s no doubt about it, and thankfully, the ropes held him up. The first fight was history. The second one will be even better.”
What we need is no controversies, a referee who doesn’t step in to give standing eight counts out of the blue, and quality scoring. The first fight should between the two was tainted.
The first fight was not that interesting to watch apart from the ninth round, and that was terrible watching the referee save Fury from being knocked out. The fight was decent in the early going, but it never really ignited like many fans had hoped it would. The undercard fight between Jai Opetaia and Mairis Briedis was world’s better than the Fury-Usyk the headliner.
The December 21st event has already taken a major hit with the ONLY interesting fight on the undercard, Israil Madrimov vs. Serhii Bohachuk, which is no longer happening due to Madrimov’s illness. The replacement opponent, Ishmael Davis, is coming off a loss and isn’t ranked in the top 15 by any of the four sanctioning bodies.
