Oleksandr Usyk Opens Up On Expectations For Tyson Fury Rematch

Oleksandr Usyk put on one of the more memorable performance in recent heavyweight boxing history when he beat Tyson Fury via closely-contested split decision this past May in Riyadh., Saudi Arabia.

The Ukraine native captured Fury’s WBC world title in that effort, adding it to his IBF/WBA/WBO titles to become the first fully unified, completely undisputed heavyweight champ since Lennox Lewis.

But, seeing as how boxing is most definitely a “what have you done for me lately” sport, the focus for Usyk is now firmly on the future.

Notably, the focus is on his rematch with Tyson Fury, currently slated for December 21 in Riyadh.

Speaking to Mail Sport Boxing, Usyk talked about his expectations coming into the highly-anticipated rematch and gave his take on whether this second go-round with The Gypsy King will be easier than the last.

“No, it won’t be easier,” Usyk insisted.

“I think it will be even more difficult. Look, I always set myself up for a hard night, never an easy one. I’m expecting the cosmos that will crush me so only my eyes will see what happening. I get pumped for such things. I don’t think that it will be easier for me, but I don’t need it to be easier. Diamonds cannot be found in easy, because they are not there. You cannot succeed without hard work, everything that is given easily does not grow.”

And that first Usyk-Fury clash was most definitely not easy.

Usyk-Fury I: A Real Look At A Real War

Lost in the excitement of Usyk’s spirited showing was the fact that Fury had won good chunks of the first eight rounds and closed the show pretty well in the later rounds, actually winning the twelfth on all three judges’ scorecards.

From this writer’s post-fight recap at FightHype.com after the bout:

“The bout turned out to be a close, entertaining affair with some high-drama moments. Usyk ended up winning via split decision by scores of 115-112, 114-113, and 113-114…

Once the feeling-out ended and the fight started, Fury owned things. He was moving, controlling the distance, and even hurting Usyk with uppercuts and body shots. At one point it looked like just a matter of time before he took the Ukrainian out.

Then the ninth round happened.

Usyk hurt Fury with a big left hand and followed that up with a barrage of punches that rocked “The Gypsy King” big-time and, really, could’ve forced a referee stoppage. Thankfully, though, referee Mark Nelson facilitated the completion of a good fight by doing the right thing– ruling a knockdown as Fury was clearly being held up by the ropes. Yeah, a case could be made that Nelson should’ve stopped the fight or that he could’ve called a knockdown earlier, as Fury bounced off the ropes a few times prior. But Fury is a fighter known to go to the ropes on his own (and he had done so in this same fight). In this case, he was out on his feet and only held up by the ropes, beyond a shadow of a doubt, a second or two before Nelson’s decision to call the knockdown. If he was trying to ‘save’ Fury, as he’s been accused of doing, he would’ve called the knockdown much sooner, sparing Fury from taking a few extra shots. I’ll rip officials a new one when they deserve it, but Nelson doesn’t deserve it in this case.

After that, the tide had turned. But, actually, not as much as raving fans basking in the glow of a great moment would lead one to believe.

From the tenth on, the fight was actually pretty even. Usyk never hurt Fury again and Fury finished the fight with a pretty decent twelfth round (he won the twelfth on all three judges’ scorecards).”

So, if all goes according to plan, Usyk and Fury will run this back. There will be a clear path to victory for both fighters and good reason to believe that either might emerge victorious.

A Clear Path To Victory For Both

If Fury goes back to boxing from a distance and controlling both the pace and space of the bout, like he did the first eight rounds of the last fight, he’ll win– if he can maintain his focus and avoid a tide-turning Usyk moment.

If Usyk shows less respect and is able to utilize his single-minded focus and determination to apply pressure, from the very begging of the fight, he could grind Fury down by the championship rounds (or earlier).

Promoter Frank Warren has also spoken about how close the first fight was and how just a minor tweak could change things immensely in the rematch.

“People talk like he [Fury] was slaughtered or something in that first fight. There was nothing in it; it was a split decision,” Warren said on his YouTube channel

“All he’s got to do is do what he did in the earlier rounds and stay focused,” Warren added. “He genuinely feels he should have won it, and I’m not talking about the decision; I’m talking about he should have won it, and he could have won it. And he knows what he’s got to do next time to make that happen.”

Usyk has already said that his tussle with Fury was the toughest fight of his life. If Fury is honest, he could point to Usyk as the toughest opponent of his career.

The rematch won’t be for all four belts anymore, as Usyk was stripped of his IBF title (Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois– two fighters defeated by Usyk– will be fighting for the vacant title on September 21). But boxing fans have learned to disregard the belts when it’s appropriate to do so.

And it’s very appropriate to do so with Usyk-Fury, a battle for unquestionable top dog status at heavyweight between two fighters who are still, unquestionably, the best in the division.