Boxing analyst Sergio Mora believes Tyson Fury’s key to defeating Oleksandr Usyk this Saturday is using his size, grappling ability, and dirty tactics to his advantage in their heavyweight undisputed championship fight in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Mora feels that Anthony Joshua’s mistake in his fights against Usyk was trying to box him rather than using his size, which didn’t work against the southpaw sniper. He thinks WBC champ Fury can use his weight by grabbing IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Usyk (21-0, 14 KOs) and leaning.
Fury could have problems if Usyk is slippery, making it difficult to grab him. We also don’t know if Usyk is stronger than Fury. Although Fury is 260+, much of his weight is fat and in his legs.
As we saw in his last fight against Francis Ngannou, he’s not particularly strong. Fury tried wrestling him, and it didn’t work.
Without his grappling, Fury didn’t even resemble a top-tier heavyweight. He looked like a domestic-level British fighter, and that’s why he barely beat Ngannou.
Grappling and Dirty Tactics: Fury’s Approach
“He fights like a bigger man more. He grapples and uses dirty tactics a lot more,” said Sergio Mora to DAZN Boxing about Tyson Fury and what he does to win his fights. “He knows how to put his weight and his size on his opponents.”
Hopefully, Fury doesn’t resort to throwing elbows, rabbit punches and low blows like he did in his fights against Deontay Wilder. In his last fight, he elbowed Ngannou in what appeared to some to be an intentional move by Fury. It was a straight elbow thrown when things were going badly for the Gypsy King.
“I think that’s going to be key with a fighter like Usyk, who you can’t pin down. When you grapple, that’s what Fury does well. He fights like a big man. That’s what Joshua couldn’t do against [Usyk]. He couldn’t grapple and fight like a big man,” said Mora.
The grappling by Fury might not work against Usyk because he doesn’t have toothpick legs like Wilder, and he’s obviously going to be prepared for that approach. If that’s the only thing Fury’s trainer, Sugarhill Steward, has, he could lose.
Usyk’s Elusive Style: A Challenge for Fury
“In the first fight, Joshua tried to outbox a sniper boxer. You’re not going to outbox Usyk. His footwork is too brilliant. He’s a southpaw. He has that Olympic pedigree. He’s an amazing, lethal sniper. So, you don’t try to outbox guys like that. You fight them. You fight boxers,” said Mora.
“I think Fury has a little bit of boxer and a lot of bit of fighter in him. The thing that worries me is inactivity and the fact that this fight got postponed. You’re dealing with a 6’9″ Fury. You can’t prepare for that.”
Fury is a very slow fighter now, who throws a few shots and then looks to grab and maul his opponents. He might find it difficult to win rounds with that approach because Usyk is hard to hit, and will be staying out of range.
“You tell me where Usyk is going to find a 6’9″ sparring partner that outweighs him by 60 to 80 lbs,” said Mora.
