By: Sean Crose
One of the most exciting (or annoying, depending on how you look at it) elements of fighting games today is TYSON FURY SHOW. Make no mistake about it, the towering Brit has a way of drawing attention to himself (as does his grumpy dad). After all, it’s hard to ignore a loud, nearly 7-foot-tall individual with a distinct swagger. However, ahead of his fight with Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight championship of the world, Fury finds himself with a lot to prove, in fact, so much to prove that he seems turned down the volume of my schtick a bit.
First, there was Fury’s dismal performance last fall against UFC legend Francis Ngannou. No one expected Fury to finish the fight facing a mixed martial artist making his in-ring debut, but that’s exactly what happened. To make matters worse, fellow Briton Anthony Joshua went on to easily knock out Ngannou a few months later. Sure, Fury defeated Ngannou by controversial split decision, but Joshua made Ngannou look like the victim of a tsunami – how subdued Ngannou was. Once again, Fury has much to prove when he steps into the ring in Saudi Arabia on Saturday to face the undefeated Usyk.
However, against this, Fury actually looks lean and mean going into this weekend’s fight. The training footage shows a man who, despite his flamboyant personality, takes matters quite seriously. That certainly didn’t happen when he fought Ngannou. In short, Fury, who calls himself “The Gypsy King,” looks ready for action. However, he is still Tyson Fury. “Good, bad, indifferent, fat, skinny, whatever, drunk, I still rush to fight,” he just got old IFL TV.
The complete opposite of Fury is the serious Usyk. It’s not that Ukrainians aren’t funny sometimes. He certainly can be. However, Usyk is an extremely skilled, very fierce opponent. To understand how focused Usyk is on this weekend’s mission, take a look at his recent words to Frank Warren’s Queensbury Promotions: “I have been preparing for this fight for 22 years. This is a big event for Ukraine.” Considering the fact that Ukraine is still engaged in a bloody war that began when the country was invaded by Russian forces in 2022, it’s easy to see why Saturday’s fight was important to Usyk.
Unlike Fury, Usyk is a steady presence in the sense that you always know how he is going to behave and it is in a confident, professional manner. However, the WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight titleholder has made it clear that he is determined not to let Fury get to his head. “I understand Fury,” he admitted while admitting “it was (a) bit difficult because of his (British accent).” It’s difficult to verbally fight someone who simply isn’t engaged. Not that it could bother Fury. However, it’s clear that the consummate professional Usyk won’t let Fury get close to him because Fury has other fighters.
In short, Oleksandr Usyk is playing very cool.
However, will that be enough against Fury? That’s a difficult question, because it’s hard to know which way this war will go. Perhaps it will all depend on whether Usyk can use the same angles with Fury as he did with Anthony Joshua. Or perhaps it will all depend on Fury being able to knock out the smaller man (although I have a hard time seeing that happening). Whatever the case, one thing is almost certain – the battle will be won by performance, not by external mind games.
