Topic: [ POLL ] The Unification Fight: FURY vs USYK 17th FEBRUARY 2024 - page 6. (Read 4165 times)

Yeah, but they kinda pick and choose when to enforce rules. I've lost count of how many times governing bodies have ordered mandatories fights only to abandon them. The WBC ordered Wilder vs. Ruiz to determine the opponent for Fury but it never materialised. I think they should have said they can keep the belt just as long as they get the fight made with a quick turn around. I'm also sure that they probably would have let Usyk keep it if he paid them a bigger fee which he probably didn't want to do just for the sake of a belt that he can collect again at a later point.

Dubois had his moments against Usyk and it was a tough fight for both boxers but Usyk still took nine rounds before getting the win. It was the first time I saw Usyk on the canvas and the controversy in the 5th will remain that. Dubois claims he should have been given the win but Usyk claims it was a low punch. Overall, Usyk deserved the win but I give credit to Dubois for trying his best.

I honestly cannot see much wrong with the alleged low-punch by Dubois. Anyway Usyk was not complaining subsequently when Dubois kept aiming for the same type of body shot even though he was clearly being hurt. It would make a fascinating fight between Usyk and Dubois for another unification fight if they win against their next opponents first.

We knew it was coming but it is still surprising in a way, because even if I can understand the rules were just being rightfully enforced, at the same time the intent behind the rules should matter too, since even if Usyk was not fighting the mandatory challenger, it is not as if he was doing this to try to keep his belt by avoiding the best possible boxer he could fight, when in fact it is the opposite, so I would have liked for the IBF to give him some leeway, but, alas, it did not happen.

Not much of a surprise here. I knew that was very likely to happen. Especially after they introduced the interim belt and we know that the winner will be fighting AJ next.
It might be an unpopular opinion but I think the IBF did the right thing (assuming they forced Usyk to vacate it rather that being his decision).
The rules are there for a reason, and if the champ is not willing to fight the mandatory challenger despite being healthy, he should be stripped.
And from the the IBF perspective, it's probably more prestigious to have their own champion rather than being just a part of a bundle. Especially when it creates a potential for another unifying match later down the line.

Usyk has vacated the IBF title belt so it will be on the line for the upcoming AJ/Dubois fight.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/article/2024/jun/26/oleksandr-usyk-vacates-ibf-world-title-daniel-dubois-anthony-joshua


No doubt the IBF were wanting a lot of money for them to let Usyk keep it  . I actually think this is a good thing as Usyk - should he win - should then fight the winner of AJ/ Dubois. I know he's already beaten them both but the Dubois fight was shrouded in controversy over the was/wasn't it a low-blow and AJ seems to have gotten his mojo back and is having a great run now so if he beats Dubois (which I think he does) it sets up the perfect trilogy.

It is like a game of chess in some ways because both Fury and Usyk want to win the rematch and both have try to out-think the other. Yes there is pressure on Fury because he needs to win as it would give him redemption but there is also pressure on Usyk too because he has already won once and would not want to lose and get in to a trilogy. Both have different types of pressure.

I can understand your reasons for not paying attention to Fury after an interview starts, many others feel the same way too. I would not have expected anything less from Fury, he is always talking too much and most of it is for being a showman 

Oh, that is nice and constructive enough, and perhaps I should have added that it's in the first sets of interviews after the match because, after that, I've never given any attention to what he has to say. I never watched this particular video, regardless, as we know Fury, he is such a big mouth guy, he may say a thing now and downplay it tomorrow and even change it entirely the 3rd day, he is what he is.

You can imagine the concluding part as if he will beat Usyk like a baby...lol Let's wait and see. I am betting on Usyk again!

That is the hallmark of a great boxer, if they can come back from adversaries and climb their title back or beat their opponents. So everything is on the shoulder of Fury now, on how he will bounce back from his first defeat and show what it takes to win in the rematch.

Yes, it says that he won the fight, as he watch the reply many times. But many boxing fans and the judges themselves disagrees with him. That's why the burden is on him on the rematch, otherwise another lost will be devastating to this career.

I guess he already knows where he went wrong in the unification fight and will try to rectify the errors for the rematch. Having said that, Usyk is a fantastic boxer and would try his best to counter whatever strategy Fury brings to the ring.

We can agree or disagree with what Fury says or believes but he clearly stated that as far as he was concerned he had won the fight. I am surprised you missed it if you had seen the video. Watch the video in the link provided by hilariousetc and when the video gets to 1m 38s Fury clearly states: "I watched the fight back lots of times, still got he same answer, I thought I won the fight, I thought I did enough"

I've not seen where Fury claimed he didn't lose the match between himself and Usyk, he may only try to talk the winning down but the match was clear and the decision was never divided. No one even queried the decision of the judges so it is obvious. On the rematch, I see nothing different from what happened in their first match. Fury has a better advantage than Usyk in my opinion but wasn't able to utilize it as it takes more than what you possess to win in the ring but how you can utilize it. He will surely locate his flaws and do better in the rematch, but Usyk won't fold his hands either.

Above it all, what I see that has been the strength of Usyk that many boxers do not have is endurance, the longer surviving spirit. That guy can withstand the heat in the ring, so it takes a staying power like him to beat him.

Yeah, Usyk was the clear winner, but Fury might have a reason to believe otherwise. Although that's already pointless at this point. But indeed it was a split decision and with the two judges giving the fight to Usyk had it very close at 115–112 and 114–113. So, if there wasn't a knockdown, the fight could have been a split draw. Although these scorecards are somehow controversial. It was an Usyk fight.

Fury has to add more aggression to his strategy. Perhaps it might help if he turns the fight into a brawl. Outfighting is highly advantageous to the much quicker Usyk.

I was just thinking that this could be part of the promotion already for the rematch. But he could really be that delusional and thinking that he won the fight, it might be close though but there's no uproar and we really think that Fury losses this fight very clearly.

And he should really focus on the rematch, make the necessary adjustments as that really separates a elite boxer from a good one. The ability to comeback, get back the belt that you lost, come back strong. So he should acknowledge first that he lost this one, man up and adjust.

Tyson in a new interview on his Furyocity channel gave an updated about what he's been up to since the fight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfXEIeMPWK8

He thinks he beat Usyk easily and claims Usyk knows he lost the fight. Delusional. Was hoping he'd just accept defeat and promise to change that in the rematch. Hopefully the ref doesn't get involved this time and deprive Usyk of a KO.

I absolutely agree.

To be fair to Fury, he was at one of the lightest ever for a professional fight at the weigh-in. I keep thinking about Wilder looking so tired by the time he managed to wriggle free from Fury after he the ropes behind him and Fury pushing in front of him. I just cannot see how Usyk will be able to cope with it if a heavier Fury were to rough him up that way. Fury will probably be much heavier when they meet for the rematch.

If Fury were to execute the left hand jab/double jab to keep a distance between him and Usyk, he can throw the right hand when it suits him because there will be space between them. If he keeps Usyk at a distance and dances around while throwing jabs and eventually leaning on him on the ropes when Usyk gets too close, I think Fury will win. I cannot see the rematch going to 12 rounds. This has KO or TKO written all over it.

That once punch is what I am expecting. It will be a close fight until one gets the KO or TKO (and I think Fury will win).

If Fury is aggressive with that left jab, the rematch will be nothing like the unification fight. In that case Usyk will have to adjust to counter the threat but as we know he is technically excellent therefore will always up for the challenge and that is why the rematch prospect is exciting.

Now we both have the same feelings. We want a trilogy because... who doesn't want it? More fun to us boxing fans, more money for the organization, and more money for both boxers as well.

Like you said, Fury is hungry to get his revenge and it isn't only because of the title itself, but the fact that he got his first ever professional career loss against him, he's way hungrier than we are thinking right now. Both fighters are good and they're the best at their own divisions. One punch can change everything and, in their match, it's Usyk's left hook that changed everything. I wonder what it will be in their rematch. I'll predict it will be Fury's right hook.

I don't know, but maybe he's kind of afraid to throw some jabs because of the fact that Usyk is way faster than him. I mean comparing him with Wilder, Usyk is way faster hence, he's defending more than he's using his jabs. We will see more of it during their rematch that's for sure, and like what others said, he will be more aggressive this time than him.

That is a good question, since their reach are 198 and 216cm. Strange that Fury did not use his almost 20cm reach advantage. He could have switched on Klitchko mode and poke with jabs all the time. It would be a boring, yet effective strategy. All what Fury needed to to was to train stamina for jabs and runs. Now he is in tricky situation, when he needs to work as Nr.1 to make judges believe he won.   Jabs wont be enough to win in rematch. I think Fury needs a knockdown as minimum to win this time. Even if they go full distance, with previous victory in pocket, Usyk will win with split decision.

Fury has to be aggressive, make it dirty if possible and let his hands go. Considering Usyk's great footwork, it'll be hard for Fury to be the aggressor unless he hurts the Ukrainian or he was allowed on purpose. Fury has long arms but it's too risky to keep throwing them when you already knew that the smaller guy has the speed and was already doing in and out many times uncaught.

Fury tried to use his weight but Usyk is just too small and quick. I am not sure if Fury will come heavier in the rematch, it'll be very interesting to know because he might not win even a few rounds if he'll be too heavy but he can most likely take Usyk's best shots. I guess Fury will enter the ring in the same weight, a little more or less.

One thing that was almost missing from Fury in their unification fight was effective use of his jab. He did not use it enough to his capability and given the length of his arm he definitely had reach advantage therefore it baffles me how (with the exception of rounds 4-6 when he stepped up to dominate the fight) he allowed Usyk to control the centre of the ring and the fight.

When Fury flew in to action and caused problem for Usyk, he was releasing the left hand jabs followed by right hand punches and that was when I thought Usyk was going to hit the canvas and Fury would win. In their rematch if Fury is aggressive and rough, it is difficult to see Usyk winning. I remember Wilder saying he lost a lot of energy and strength when Fury was leaning on to him on the ropes and he felt drained. If Fury does that or if Usyk allows Fury to do it then I think we will see a different outcome.

What makes this an exciting prospect is that Usyk has no intention of letting Fury win and at the same time Fury has no intention of losing 

sounds like you're getting serious about looking at such sport. this rematch clause is just making the boxing irksome especially since they have to manipulate such as belt stripping just to make fights happen. despite the wide margin, usyk and fury still have to fight again after all, the saudis are going to spend millions as long as it's held in dubai.

Tyson has dropped below AJ in the WBC rankings now: https://talksport.com/sport/1921724/tyson-fury-anthony-joshua-wbc-heavyweight-rankings-oleksandr-usyk/

Not that that means much. Arbitrary these rankings mostly. I hope the Tyson/AJ fight happens next year. I think it's 50/50 at this point though given AJs recent few performances I might edge him especially how he nearly killed Francis Ngannou and Fury nearly got beat by him  .


Fury doesn't have anything to lose now so I'm sure he'll go hell for leather even if that means gassing out and getting picked off by Usyk. He doesn't really have any other choice as he's knows he's not going to outbox Usyk so he's going to have to try KO him which he will obviously have to be the first person to do so. Maybe Fury needs to be a bit rougher/dirtier and use his weight next time around. That's what I thought he'd do in the first fight but he didn't really do much of that, though that's probably more to Usyk's credit as he tends to avoid it or get out of the clinch before Fury can start weighing him down. A boxing channel did a break down of how Usyk avoided Tyson's usual tricks which is worth a watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rmPTkWcv_M