Exactly. He was strategic & used that to his advantage because his style wasn't gonna make fans tune in.
No, it was far more heart than skill on display, that's undeniable. And even then Wilder actually showed more tools than last time. As for Fury, there's nothing new that he needs a real challenge to be at his best, and let's not forget that he suffered from Covid not long ago. A study on footballers concluded that they were still 5% below their previous level even six months after having Covid https://www.dice.hhu.de/fileadmin/r...Discussion_Paper/368_Fischer_Reade_Schmal.pdf and it seems reasonable that something similar would apply to boxers as well.
If Usyk-Fury comes off, the question is what kind of Fury we will see. Can he go back to the lighter, more mobile version that he was before - if not the same as against Wlad, at least a better version of the first Wilder fight? Or is he going to continue in the vein of his last two fights of being bigger and more aggressive? I think a 270+ lbs version fo Fury would it find it very difficult against Usyk, if he still can get down to, say, 20 lbs lighter and more mobile I think that would serve him better.
It's hard to display "skills" in an all-out slugfest like that. Usyk knows this but is merely talking smack to hype his future fight with Fury. Understandable yet typical.
There were no high level boxing skills displayed in fury-wilder III. It was a back alley dust up, and a fine one at that.
Usyk vs 2021 Fury = Usyk probably wins by UD, but might get KO'd. Usyk vs 2020 Fury = Fury is a 6ft 8 inch man who's just as quick as Usyk with better stamina. 100% fully fit Fury will wear down Usyk. He's not getting KO'd by Usyk, and I think Fury will do enough to give Usyk his first defeat.