And I disagree with this; Certain aspects of Usyk's technique may appear more aesthetic. He's much closer to a regular sized man, he will look more graceful. But the more well rounded guy is the guy I will always cite as the more skilled, and that's Fury. There are more strings to his bow. There are those, of course, who refute that Fury is skilled at all, that he's nothing without his size, an argument which fails to acknowledge that men his size are rarely able to fight like him. Men his size tend to be flattened or outpointed by the Monte Barretts and David Hayes of the world. Fury is actually unprecedented in that regard; boxing has never had a man of such size married to his range of ability. I'd disagree with this also; Usyk is an athletic powerhouse. He didn't so much think his way past Tony Bellew, for example, as possess the gears to make him work at a pace he couldn't maintain before taking over the fight. Bellew looked like he could hang early on, even threw Usyk off his feint game for a spell, but Usyk never had a reason to be worried because he knew (as we all did) that his engine was vastly superior. He just had to keep Bellew working at a higher pace than he's generally comfortable with, while being defensively responsible, and he would shortly start to overwhelm the less dynamic and less robust unit, because Tony has always shown spotty stamina. Ring IQ is primarily reading comprehension, and Fury has demonstrated plenty of it. If Bellew can out-feint Usyk for a spell, I know Fury can do the same (and his engine is much better than Bellew's). Usyk is closer to a pattern fighter than Fury is. That could be enough in theory, if he's just too quick on his way in and out. But, should Usyk maneuver himself into position for a shot, you can bet that Fury will take a man of his reputation very seriously (notwithstanding his public dismissiveness). His preparation will be specially tailored. Behind doors, Wallin (to Tyson's discredit) was not taken seriously, the candid footage obtained by ITV last Summer evidences that. Fury ended up having to bull his way through Wallin (and had the ability, not only the size, to do so) because he was put into a position of urgency before he'd had adequate opportunity to figure out his timing (it was still early when he received the cut). The problem for Usyk is, he's not a well kept secret. He can't even hope to meet a half-assed Fury, like Abell could, like Wallin could, much less bank on it. Some prominent observers will fancy Usyk's chances. That alone will motivate Fury. So nobody's sleeping on Usyk. If would be better for him if he were somehow less heralded. I could see a guy of his ability perhaps upsetting an unfocused Fury. Usyk's fans think their guy is a boogerman for Fury and that Fury and his supporters are or should be leery of him. On the contrary, I'll be happy to see the fight, though I'd like to see Fury-Joshua first for obvious reasons (the sport needs the big events). I'll also look forward to putting money down on the outcome, if the odds aren't completely prohibitive i.e. too lopsided in Fury's favor; three-figure wagers are my thing, and I'm not in the habit of laying 4 or 5 hundred down to make 1, however confident I am in a man's ability (there's always the possibility of a freak injury). Fury's biggest problem against Cunningham, btw, was his own nervous energy. For whatever reason (perhaps the issues with his uncle not being allowed into the US, perhaps the pre-fight needle between the two camps, perhaps a compound of factors), he was highly strung from the opening bell, didn't really give his boxing a chance to settle in and get to work, seemed to be spoiling for a combustion, even his taunting during the first couple rounds with Steve was not of the controlled variety we've grown accustomed to. That nervous energy ultimately put him in a position of urgency. But even chasing the fight and brute-forcing his way through it, he did so much more intelligently than even he gives himself credit for. Whatever was eating him in 2013 (there were less conspicuous flashes of it in the Abell bout, too), Fury hasn't behaved like that in the ring since, has never seemed stressed and unrelaxed in the ring like he did on that occasion. He's been a model of composure between the ropes.
He is going to be very hard to beat I dont see anyone currently fighting posing A real threat to him not Ruiz, certainly not Wilder AJ would be the only test, but I see a Fury taking him out mid rounds Usyk, I am not too savvy on his chances... I am not sure what he’d do against a great big aggressive heavyweight like Fury
What no one has really touched on is that Fury does not have a style. He is never the same 2 fights on the trot. I remember when he fought Martin Rogan and he came out southpaw. We were all waiting for him to switch to orthodox, that he was just messing with Rogan's head but he boxed the whole, I think 5 rounds, left handed and looked totally natural. Look at the performances against Chisora and Wilder. Fury took a totally different approach in both re-matches. You can't train with a plan in mind based on what you think Fury is going to do. Tyson has struggled against guys who came with a plan based on what they were going to do and stuck rigidly to it, McDermott, Cunningham and Wallin. If you're lucky enough to have picked the right plan on the night and you absolutely stick to it, it could be your night. That's why, although I would still favour Fury, I wouldn't rule AJ out.
Although noone really wants to hear it Haye in any kind of physical shape to fight would have potentially been a difficult night's work for Fury. He'd be favoured by a fair bit for sure but I think he would of had the potential to cause him problems being a speedy two handed puncher who could throw from weird angles.
Maybe call a carpenter because you have to nail him to the canvas. By the way, does anyone else remember the first "no blueprint" thread? I seem to remember some fanboy said it about Vitali Kiltschko because he lost on injury and cuts. Can anyone bump that thread (if it still exists) for fun?
A Tysonesque type fighter that can cut the ring off, get Fury on the ropes an make it an inside fight most of the fight.
Hunter declined Hrgovic on the AJ vs Ruiz 2 card . Hrgovic is the few guys that could handle Fury he’s going to be the next champion should AJ not be holding all of them . Hrgovic is going to do damage at heavyweight I don’t see many defeating him .
I actually picked Haye to beat him back then when that fight was supposed to happen. But I don't see it that way now even though Haye would be dangerous at all times for sure.
It's an interesting question. If we consider the two guys that gave (non rookie) Fury the most problems, it would have to be Cunningham and Wilder. Cunningham's speed and boxing ability forced Fury into hunt and crush mode. Wilder's speed, reach and power created massive danger but he didn't have Cunningham's skill. Nevertheless, Wilder was the closest to beating Fury, though it wasn't a fully fit Fury. If you combine Cunningham's attributes with Wilder's you get ... whether we like it or not ... DAVID HAYE! Haye is like Cunningham with big bomb power. Perhaps Haye really had the best chance of beating Fury. That's amusing.
Put him in there with a guy that’s going to have a better mid to close range game than Fury is the first key, because you’re not bettering him from the outside. Once Fury has established that he cannot walk said boxer down, this boxer needs to realise that if he goes headhunting all night he’ll miss most of the night. He’ll likely need to be of a good size so that Fury can’t treat him like a rag doll, or easily tie him up, and if he tries he knows that he’s going to get ripped to the body with heavy hands. He’ll also need to work at cutting off the ring. Such a boxer will also need to be a good combination puncher, but as I said, those combinations need to be aimed at his chest and body for the most part. Joshua is the obvious choice. Dubois is my wildcard. I wouldn’t favour either of them necessarily, but I can see them implementing that game plan effectively, making Fury fight at their pace.
