Usyk Says Fury Was His Toughest Fight – But Is He Telling The Truth?

June 7, 2024
8 months
Usyk Says Fury Was His Toughest Fight - But Is He Telling The Truth?

Oleksandr Usyk has said Tyson Fury was his toughest fight. 

Usyk defeated Fury to become the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion via a split decision. It was the Gypsy King’s first loss, as Usyk became a two-weight undisputed champion. Usyk started the fight strong, tagging Fury with his left hand to the head and body. The Gypsy King responded by having the better of the middle rounds, stinging Usyk with uppercuts to the body and head.

While that may have been the case, Usyk made the adjustments. He nearly knocked Fury out in round nine, only for the referee to give Fury a standing count. The duo will rematch each other on December 21. There are still question marks over whether it will be undisputed. Usyk is required to defend against his IBF mandatory Daniel Dubois. However, Usyk has applied for an exemption, allowing him to keep the belts. Either way, Usyk recognized it was a tough bout, even if he faced harder punchers. 

Usyk Reacts

“Toughest fight – yes. Biggest punch – no. Because Derek Chisora, very tough guy. [One punch landed] on the gloves and I said, ‘Oh my God.’ Like a baseball bat. When I get the uppercut it was very pain. I feel for maybe ten seconds and say, ‘Hey God, thank you, help me.’ I say to myself, ‘Move. Move because if you stop he’ll kill you,” Usyk said 

Nevertheless, it is important to bear those comments in mind. The AI stats suggest that Usyk dominated the fight. According to the AI company Jabbr, Usyk was the better fighter. Although Fury threw more punches than the Ukrainian, he landed far less. Fury’s numbers were also fewer on the high-impact/power punches. 

“Fury had most of his success with his jab to the head and with his hooks to the body, though he did also score a couple of nasty high and max impact uppercuts in there as well, see the Sankey diagram. Usyk had more variance in his game; he was landing high and max impact shots from many different types of punches from both singles and extended 2-3-4 punch combinations. The middle rounds looked fairly even on the punch stats as a whole, whereas the later rounds clearly favored Usyk,” Jabbr spokesperson 

The Stats

The CompuBox statistics also proved that. Usyk connected with 170 punches, while Fury had 157. This was the most landed on Fury, more than the 127 by Otto Wallin. Fury did connect with more jabs to the body. It was 62 compared to Usyk’s 48. However, Usyk had the better conversion rate at 32.7 percent compared to Fury’s 21.7. Usyk also landed 122 power punches against Fury’s 95. 

Usyk’s comments may have been said to magnify his resume and the nature of the win. The Ukrainian is also a master of mind games. The comments may increase Fury’s belief that he could get a win, creating a false sense of security. It also spells danger for Fury, knowing that his best was not good enough for him to beat Usyk. That is something The Gypsy King will have to ponder. 

“I respect Fury because he’s a great fighter, great man, very smart. What Tyson does, ‘Blah, blah, blah.’ A lot of people say he’s a clown. It’s playing. Not me, but maybe a different opponent who doesn’t have tunnel vision,” Usyk stated 

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