With Oleksandr Usyk vs Tyson Fury II upon us, Olympian and heavyweight contender Frazer Clarke breaks down the heavyweight title rematch and explains how ‘The Gypsy King’ can get it right the second time of asking.
Eight months on from that historic night, Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury are ready to do it all again. A lot of people have been asking, did that first career defeat change Tyson? For me, absolutely not. It will have only spurred him on.
Throughout boxing history there are very few who go undefeated and some of the best of all time suffer defeat more than once. With what happened last time, Fury will be even more up for this.
Fury does have a lot of miles on the clock. But defeat last May won’t have taken anything from him. I have heard the same thing about myself since losing to Fabio Wardley. I have heard because I’ve been knocked out I might be a bit squeamish next time I’m in the ring. A bit scared. They couldn’t be more wrong. After something like that, you are more determined than ever.
I might have been a bit naïve to think I couldn’t get knocked out. In the same way, Tyson Fury simply did not think he could lose and he did. It is the game we are in. But things like that doesn’t deter me and they do not deter Fury.
If you think for one second he will be afraid to take a shot, afraid to mix it up, you are absolutely wrong. Boxers aren’t normal people. I’m not worried about getting hit again, I’m excited to see how much better I can be and I’m sure Tyson is the exact same.
From the person I think he is, it won’t be on his mind one bit.
Fury will know what to do differently this time
With Fury, he has never looked like Anthony Joshua, and has never wanted to. But he uses that to his advantage every time.
Looking back at the first fight, if he had a bit more in the tank, he probably would have won the fight. And that can be the key to getting the win this time. Knowing that there is a little more gas in the engine could seal it. He will have done the work. Fitness should be the least of your worries in these big league fights, it should be given.
From what I have heard throughout my time in this sport, from people who have fought him and worked with him, Tyson is one of the fittest men they have come across. So that’s never been a problem for him.
Usyk has already eclipsed Klitschko legends
Usyk is a modern legend of the game. Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko were fantastic heavyweights. But in terms of legacy, popularity and the influence they’ve had on the rest of the world, I think Usyk is bigger and better in that respect.
He is worldwide, people are excited to see him, excited to watch him and while he doesn’t say much, excited to listen to him. With Wladimir and Vitali, no one used to jump out of their seats or stay up all night to watch them unless it was a true blockbuster, like against Lennox Lewis, David Haye or AJ. You would watch it the next day.
Usyk has the character, he has all the credentials. The fact he is a smaller heavyweight makes it more exciting too, there is always the fear he could get clipped by the bigger lads – not that that’s happened yet.
They are all amazing fighters but I would say Usyk is top of the Ukrainian tree. The Klitschkos were very regimented, they said the right things and did the right things. Usyk has a bit more about him, the haircuts, the dancing, the Agent 47 suit at the press conference last month, he says crazy things but he always does it very respectfully.
He has brought so much to this division and has been in massive fights and has beaten the best. He is one of the best heavyweight of all time. This is the golden period in term of money in the sport and he is cleaning up as he should.
My Usyk vs Fury fight prediction
My gut feeling is Usyk will win again. Tyson is absolutely brilliant and he is the master of deception. He has said he hasn’t needed to change much from the first fight and it was a very close fight. But he is going to have to do something different.
He has been a lot quieter than usual building up to this but I think Usyk will still be that little bit better. But it will be another close one.
I am leaning towards a Usyk win, but it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if Fury dominates the middle rounds again and has legs to go all the way this time.