Spencer Oliver believes Tyson Fury needs to use the movement that he had when he defeated Wladimir Klitschko in 2015 when he faces Oleksandr Usyk in their rematch on December 21.
Poor Mobility
Fury weighed a slender 247 lbs for his fight with Wladimir on November 28, 2015. He was 27 at the time, still young, and it was before he started having weight problems. After the Gyspy King defeated Klitschko by a 12-round unanimous decision in that fight in Duesseldorf, Germany, his weight ballooned to around 400 lbs.
Since then, Fury has never gotten down anywhere close to the 247-lb weight he came in at for his fight with Klitschko. It’s safe to say that Fury will NEVER return to that weight without it putting him in the hospital. Once a person gets as heavy as Fury was during his 2 1/2 year victory lap after the Wladimir fight, you never return to what you were without looking sickly.
One insurmountable obstacle preventing that strategy from working for the former WBC heavyweight champion Fury is his weight. It’s been reported that Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs) is bulking up to the 270s to try and utilize his size to bully Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs), as he had successfully done in his rematch with Deontay Wilder on February 22, 2020.
Fury bulked up to 273 lbs for that fight, using grappling and roughhouse tactics to subdue the lighter 231-lb Wilder. Tyson enjoyed a 42-lb weight advantage in that fight. That is not the reason he won, though. Deontay looked confused and could not adapt to Fury lunging frequently to grab him in his bear-like hold to engulf him.
Ring IQ Deficit
Being heavier against Usyk won’t work nearly as well because he won’t allow Fury to grab him as Deontay and Wladimir did. Both fighters lacked the ring IQ that Usyk possesses to outsmart Fury, who repeatedly did the same thing in those fights.
Usyk isn’t stupid. He won’t allow Fury to lunge in after throwing a punch, but he won’t move away or catch him with a shot while he’s coming forward.
“If Tyson Fury can rediscover the movement he had during the 2015 time against Wladimir Klitschko, rumors are circulating he could come in a lot heavier for this one,” said Spencer Oliver to talkSport Boxing about Fury coming in heavier for the rematch with Usyk on December 21st.
“Will that be his undoing doing that? Because if he is looking to bully him, I think you are playing into Usyk’s hands.”
Fury’s Obstacles to Victory Against Usyk
– Weight
– Lack of Ring IQ
– One-dimensional game plan: Mauling
– Poor mobility
– Age
– Fragile mandible: Punch resistance gone
– Stamina issues
– No power
“Use that uppercut he did in the sixth round and draw Usyk in,” said Oliver about what Fury should do against Usyk.
