Fury before his elbows gave out (2021 onwards) and a version of Usyk fhat hadn't fully adapted and grown to HW wins e.g. 2020 Fury Vs 2020 Usyk but that's an unfair hypothetical. If that fight happened at that time and Fury won he would have got zero credit for it anyway
I've always said that the best possible version of Fury could beat Usyk. But I don't know if we ever saw that version because Fury is so F'ing lazy.
WHEN was Fury's actual prime is the question I often ponder?...he's not only been inconsistent between actual fighting styles and in-between fights ( and trainers!) throughout his career, he can be very inconsistent within any given single fight on the actual night. One minute he can be on his arse, and the next he manages to get up to win or draw. OR he can make bloody hard work of a fight that you'd really not expect him too. So, It is of course possible, a very on peak form, Fury, IN the right moment, at the right place, could possibly beat Usyk, stars can always align... Add in the very slim chance of Usyk not being 100% ( a rarity I've personally never seen as he's seemingly always at his best) on any given night and yes, it is a possibility that Fury could get a decision.. I personally think Usyk beats Fury 9 times out of ten. I've got some respect for the law of averages.
In two fights vs Usyk I only gave Fury 4 rounds, 3 rounds in fight 1 and round 9 in fight 2 (fight II I had technical difficulties in round 5 and didn't score but I heard it was a clear Fury round). That type of dominance, Fury isn't beating any version of Usyk. I mean let's be honest..............when was Fury's prime? When he still had hair. He's not really any more or less advanced where you can point to a portion of his career and say.............."this is the most prime I've ever seen Fury".
A prime Fury who was in shape barely got past a mediocre southpaw like Otto Wallin. Usyk beats any version of Fury. Fury is a good fighter where as Usyk is a great fighter big difference.
People need to think a bit about this. Fury gave Usyk big problems in the first fight and got concussed from a punch that didn't seem bigger than plenty of other hits he's taken. Fury lost some punch resistance, I think that's obvious. It's also why he fought so defensive in the rematch. This is a guy who came forward on Wilder and he's worried about Usyk's counters? Come on. Prime Fury was faster and had better punch resistance. He could potentially beat 38 Usyk. But that doesn't mean it's easy or that it's a given. Prime Fury is better than this one though. The whole Kronk thing is nonsense, Fury was never a huge puncher but had some power if he sat on punches and that power looked no different after Kronk except for the Whyte one punch but Whyte was punchy already and after that Fury didn't drop anyone again. Point is in his prime his punches would do about the same but he was also faster and could take more damage. Do the math on that and Usyk has a much harder time.
Prime Usyk is not the 38 y/o version and no version of Greedy Belly is beating Usyk. 38 y/o Usyk walked him down which actually played into Greedy Belly's strengths, especially in the first fight. There's a lot of revisionism being applied with Greedy Belly now. He might not have the greatest resume but he's by far the slickest, most agile and most skilled in terms of pure boxing SHW sized boxer we've ever seen and his footwork, agility, and coordination are crazy for a giant of his gargantuan dimensions. We've simply never seen anyone of that size who is that loose, fluid, agile and skilled and in addition to that he's very awkward, crafty, with a great punch arsenal and punch selection and feints and he's very versatile. He's a complete fighter and he's a tough nights work for anyone when he's at his best and is motivated and switched on.
I Agree, but we are speaking in hypothetical terms, because, as you said, we never saw a prime Fury. As far as the Fury we do know, Usyk whoops him most if not everytime. As I said several times before, Fury could have dominated the division for over a decade. But, that wasn't what he wanted. He wanted to get the big pay days and play harder than he worked. And he woulda gotten away with it if it weren't for that meddling Usyk. LOL
Usyk has displayed a slight but significant edge over Fury in both fights but not enough to where earlier or later versions of Fury could be completely ruled out. I think it's a safe bet though that Usyk just has his number and beats him 6-7 out of 10 times.
fury has never been very good, much less great. his size poses problems, but nothing an elite fighter cant deal with. hes not even out of reach of a boxing debutant.
Fury from the Wlad fight I favour against Usyk, particularly Usyk at 38 who I think is past his best even if well preserved. That version of Fury was faster, had more gas in the tank, had better punch resistance, and threw about 100 faints a round. I had fury winning somewhere between 7 and 10 rounds over two fights with usyk, and are people forgetting that the first fight was a mixed decision? Fury doesn't need to be much better than that to get that decision, justly or not. But, as others have pointed out, he has been very inconsistent throughout his career and it has ultimately been his undoing.
