Tyson Fury is confident he will knock out Oleksandr Usyk in their December 21 rematch.
Fury lost the first fight via a split decision to become the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion. In his post-fight comments, the Gypsy King refused to accept the loss. He felt that Usyk had only been given the decision because of Russia’s war with Ukraine.
Even after having rewatched the fight, Fury was adamant that he had comfortably won. He called Usyk an amateur, but the wider perception was that Usyk had done enough to win. The Ukrainian dominated the earlier and latter parts of the fight, while Fury’s success came in the middle rounds.
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Usyk almost knocked out Fury in the ninth round, with him bouncing off the ropes before the referee imposed a controversial standing eight count just when a stoppage appeared likely. The rematch is not for undisputed since Usyk vacated the IBF Heavyweight Title.
Daniel Dubois, the current champion, defended the belt successfully by knocking out Anthony Joshua in the fifth round. Fury has plenty on the line, as a win would secure an undisputed title shot against Dubois. But even if there is a loss, there is the potential to face Joshua in a mega-domestic clash.
Given that Fury is coming off the first defeat of his career, there are question marks over whether he can bounce back. The Gypsy King felt that he would get his comeback. He singled out his rematch against Deontay Wilder in the second bout where he knocked him out. Fury was outboxing Wilder in the first fight before the Bronze Bomber dropped him in the final round.
That was enough to secure a draw, even if the majority of boxing fans felt Fury had done enough to win. Fury is using Wilder’s performance as motivation to come forward in this rematch. But it is important to bear in mind the following. Usyk fights very well when fighters are coming to him. This is due to his ability to counterpunch.
He sat in the pocket against Joshua in his two fights. He still managed to pick off his opponent, almost stopping Joshua in the first fight in the last round. While Fury will be looking to impose his size on Usyk, there is a risk that he will leave himself open by giving the Ukrainian a bigger target to hit. But if he can get his balance right, then Fury has a good chance of avenging his only loss.
“I didn’t think he beat me last time, and I’m damn sure not going to let him beat me this time. I’ve got to knock him out, and I’ll be training for a good knockout, and I’ll get it like Wilder 2. I said I was going to knock him out, and I did.
“I’m going to knock him out this time, and I will. Believe it first. He got the decision over me, and I got to run it back. It makes sense to do the rematch and get my victory back. I’ve got past the point of really caring. It probably took that decision to wake me up and give me the type of aggression back where I want to smash someone in,” Fury said
