Former heavyweight champion Tyson Fury turns 36 today, an age when some heavyweights begin to slowly decline. Having suffered just one loss as a professional, that last defeat to the towering Oleksandr Usyk, Fury must take revenge in December’s rematch or his place in boxing history will be seriously jeopardized; this is the criticism he has received from a man who claims (or claimed) to be the greatest boxer of all time.
Fury, an unnaturally good mover for such a big man, a big man who also has (or had) an unusual engine, will have to give it his all a few days before Christmas. Fury MUST beat Usyk or something will happen. So Fury’s fans and supporters hope and believe that “The Gypsy King” will literally throw himself into training about three months before Usyk’s return. There can be no distractions, no drunken episodes, no stone left unturned, and in the place that really counts for all fighters – the gym.
But how much does Fury have left in him at this point? Fury, who has been knocked down around eight times during his professional career (by Neven Pajkic, Steve Cunningham, Deontay Wilder X4, Francis Ngannou and Usyk), has (or had) amazingly impressive regenerative powers, getting back to his feet every time and avoiding defeat in every fight except the one against Usyk. But how much longer can Fury’s chin serve him well? Even a piece of rock that has water thrown at it for an extended period of time will eventually weaken.
As far as Fury’s speed and skill go, Usyk could match both, and on this night, Fury seemed stuck between two game plans when it came to defeating the immensely talented Ukrainian southpaw. The advantages in speed and movement that Fury had over bigger, less agile men were non-existent against Usyk. Can Fury make adjustments now, and can he and his team develop an improved, 100 percent reliable game plan that will allow them to beat Usyk in the second fight?
Or does Fury have a lot more to offer, but Usyk is just a fighter who, as they say, has his act together? We don’t know. Fury was successful in the first fight against Usyk, his bodywork working in tandem with his uppercuts. But Usyk made the necessary adjustments throughout the fight and hurt Fury like no other man had before, in that sweltering ninth round. Fury was almost stopped, his courage (and, some said, some help from the referee) keeping him in the fight.
Usyk’s team has said they will watch Usyk win by stoppage in December. Maybe. Or maybe Fury will lock himself away and put his (aging?) body through the toughest, most grueling training camp of his life, just enough to give him a narrow points victory the second time around. Have we seen Fury at his very best in his second fight with Wilder, or is there more greatness to come? Never before in his career has Fury gone into a fight with so much at stake. Pressure snaps your nerves, the old coaches say. Pressure can also get the best of a mentally strong, absolutely determined grappler. Is Fury that kind of fighter?
Usyk, we know, lives his life and always has, while Fury has put his body through a lot over the last eight years: massive weight gain, alcohol and drug abuse, junk food consumption. How much that has taken on Fury and if and when the effects will really come to fruition, we simply don’t know. If Fury can get it right and beat Usyk in December, he will have a lot to prove, not just to the experts but to himself. Whatever he may say, Fury will have doubts going into the fight on December 21. But those doubts, even fears, could work to Fury’s advantage.
How would Fury’s reputation change if he lost to Usyk again? Would a second loss force Fury and his ego into retirement, as Usyk’s assistant coach has predicted? Never before has Fury, 34-1-1(24), been asked so many questions before a fight.
It might seem unfair to say that a fighter with a single loss has everything to prove to avenge that defeat, or anything else. After all, while Fury’s resume isn’t exactly chock-full of big names, at least not compared to the heavyweight immortals Fury says he’s superior to, he has some nice wins under his belt and he’s done some amazing things in the ring. But Usyk could well go down in history as Fury’s defining opponent. And if Fury loses two fights in a row to Usyk, he’s not going to like it at all; no matter what he says against it, and Fury says he doesn’t give a damn what his critics say about him. Fury really does care, believe it.
Tyson is 36 now and needs to train, fight and live his life, the rest of his fighting life, as best he can. But surely he realizes that, right? Fury has been quiet recently, which could be a good thing, and we haven’t seen or heard the bluster before the Usyk loss (although Fury did say, incredibly, in a not-too-long interview that he felt he won the fight against Usyk “easily” and that he had “too much fun” during the fight).
Will Fury ever be the same from here on out? We don’t know that either. But we’ll all be tuning in on December 21st to find out.
