Years in the making: The Fury vs Usyk fight and what it means to unify the titles
Boxing is nonsensical and fractured. It has been run down by years of corrupt sanction bodies and mass invisibility. It is no longer the sport it was in the 1970s, 80s and 90s — and is a far cry from the worldwide staple it was a century ago.
But every now and then, despite the decades of self-destruction, boxing shows glimmers of its former greatness. What it was in its heyday — and what it could still be in the future.
For the first time in 25 years, the heavyweight championship will be unified again. No more WBC/IBF/WBA/WBO splintered nonsense. Two decorated combatants will vie for what John L. Sullivan and Jack Dempsey and Joe Louis and Muhammad Ali owned — the unified, lineal heavyweight championship of the world. All the belts, all the history and all the prestige in one anticipated international showdown when undefeated Tyson Fury and undefeated Okeksandr Usyk finally rumble at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (Noon, Saturday, PPV.com; main event approximately 4:05 p.m.).
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Fury vs Usyk: Long time coming
This is a fight that is years in the making. But one that seemed unlikely even from the start.
Consider, Fury, 34-0-1 (24 knockouts), Morecambe, United Kingdom, won three of the four recognized heavyweight titles in 2015 when he upset Wladimir Klitschko. What followed was a personal setback that threatened not only his boxing career — but his very existence. He suffered severe depression, gained weight, went inactive for three years and had the heavyweight titles stripped from him. During that time, Usyk, 21-0 (14 KO’s), Simferopol, Crimes, Ukraine, emerged — winning four cruiserweight titles and establishing himself as one of the best fighters on the planet.
But even when Fury reestablished himself — drawing with and then dominating Deontay Wilder in 2019 and ’20 — a showdown with Usyk wasn’t necessarily on the drawing board. At 6-foot-3, 217, the southpaw Ukrainian seemed too small for the 6-9, 273-pound “Gypsy King.”
But that all changed in 2021, when Usyk beat Anthony Joshua, derailing a Fury-Joshua fight and establishing himself as Fury’s primary threat. The demand for Fury vs. Usyk grew a year later, when the Ukrainian super boxer repeated a decision over Joshua.
Credit to both fighters that, once established as the fight everybody wanted to see — they made it. Even through Fury’s often goofy behavior and his cut that postponed their scheduled February pairing, this is a fight that both fighters seemingly wanted as much as the fans.
For all of his bombast, Fury, 35, is the best heavyweight since Klitschko and arguably one of the best big men to ever step through the ropes. He’s beaten an array of styles, from the long and careful Klitschko to the long and powerful Wilder to Dillian Whyte to Derek Chisora. So far, the Wilder trilogy defines him. After getting dropped in the final round of their first fight, he returned the following year to destroy the “Bronze Bomber” via 7th-round TKO in his career-best performance. He beat Wilder again in 2021 when he decided to brawl and saw himself having to pick himself up off the canvas. But he survived to register an 11th-round knockout.
When he’s smart and keeps his wits about him, he is very tough to beat. He is huge, rangy and well-learned. He can box or punch and has good movement for a man his size. In any era, Tyson Fury is a threat.
Usyk, 37, is different both in demeanor and style. He has a quiet confidence and is a master boxer, using exquisite foot movement, angles, speed and combination punching to confound opponents before going for the kill. He established himself alongside Evander Holyfield as one of the two greatest cruiserweights who ever lived, and he has gone 5-0 (2 knockouts) as a heavyweight. Though known as a tremendous stylist, Usyk can get you out of there. He had Joshua going in the final seconds of the first fight, and his knockout power was evident in his last fight against Daniel Dubois (KO 9).
Like Fury, Usyk is one of the best fighters of his generation.
Fury vs Usyk: Go with the Gypsy King
Let’s go ahead and throw out their last two fights. Fury was unprepared and unfocused in his embarrassing, lackluster split decision win over MMA fighter Francis Ngannou in October. In fact — he looked so bad in getting dropped that it was probably great that the scheduled February fight with Usyk was postponed. Fury, with all of his boxing knowledge, knew he couldn’t beat a fighter of Usyk’s quality with half-focus. Now, though, he appears slim and trim and ready to fight. The postponement was the best thing that could’ve happened to him and the fans.
Usyk meanwhile, had a scary moment in the Dubois fight in August when he went down after a shot to the midsection. The ref said it was low — and it was. But not by much. It was the most vulnerable Usyk has ever looked, as he would’ve been counted out had the ref ruled it a legal shot. He, too, will come in in top condition and ready to prove he is the best.
Fury, with his new lighter frame, appears ready to box and not wrestle and lean on the smaller man — which is what many expected. He will try and establish the long jab behind his enormous 85-inch reach (a seven-inch advantage) and back up Usyk with his harder punches.
Usyk will try to find angles and countering opportunities with side-to-side movement. He has underrated punching power and he will be throwing with authority. He will also be aiming for the body and throwing combinations in an effort to outpunch and wear out the big man.
The axiom isn’t always true — but it’ll be true this time: a good big man always beats a good little man. Look for a tactical, nip-and-tuck affair, with razor-close rounds, no knockdowns and no huge exchanges but much supreme boxing skill. It’ll come down to Fury touching Usyk more with the jab. In a game of inches, that’ll be the difference. And the heavyweight title will be one again.
All hail the new king. The Gypsy King.
Fury by split decision.
Matthew Aguilar may be reached at maguilarnew@yahoo.com @MatthewAguilar5 on X
This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Matthew Aguilar: Predicting who will win the Fury vs Usyk fight
