Watching back Usyk vs Fury

[dan_cov]

I don't feel it was as competitive as I initially thought.
I thought having it wide for Usyk was a bit whacky at first now on another watch I think I am in agreeance or certainly see where they are coming from.

Fury took a knife to a gun fight, his legs have gone and tbh the gameplan was poor but about all he could muster really considering. Did he really expect to win by trying to hold centre ring, keeping his right glove glued to his cheek and jostling to try prevent Usyk coming over the top? Usyk simply level changed, went underneath and to the body which was there all night. He didn't exert himself just ****** away to the body and racked up points and the supposedly multi-dimensional and adaptable Fury had no answer. I didn't see any adjustments or advice from Sugar Hill? Offered nothing but ''keep your ****ing hand up maaan''.
I think he put on weight to absorb a shot better and took way less risks, it was more about not getting badly hurt again. That first fight for me has scarred him.
The weight, gameplan & so on seemed more about simply not having another round 9 than coming in to win.

For someone who claims they're a fighting man and is regarded as having such heart and being the gypsy king etc it was rather disappointing, and this maybe unpopular but I am convinced Usyk never got out of 2nd gear and just did enough almost. I think in a way he took pity on Fury. There was several times he buzzed Fury and didn't jump on him.

A lot of these supposed early rounds that went to Fury was controlled by Usyk and Fury landed maybe 1 right hand towards the end which simply wasn't enough to undo all the good work Usyk had put in for the previous 2 1/2 mins.
Those that think it was really close must be ignoring the body work from Usyk and those little stabs that don't look much not only score but take a tole and why Fury slowed by mid-point.

Fury looked slower and landed hardly anything of note or significance, no speed or snap on his punches & a lot of what he 'landed' wasn't scoring shots. Usyk was blocking, sliding, slipping so many shots. I honestly did not realise live just how little Fury landed clean, very little got through. Considering the size disadvantage, how aggressive he was that was a very good defensive performance from Usyk.
The odd time he did get through Usyk smiled as-if it was a proud Father moment.

I do not buy Usyk looked better than ever, he didn't have to be, he just boxed within himself.

[dan_cov]

I'd also like to say Fury fought dirty as **** and this hasn't been talked about enough.
He landed a lot of low blows, multiple rabbit punches, use of the forearms, threw an elbow at one point and at least 2-3 times he tried hitting Usyk with a back-hander.

It shouldn't be Usyks job to have to referee and fight at the same time.
Why is it every time Fury fights he gets these awfully blind and clearly paid off refs?

I don't think he even acknowledged a single foul until Usyk pointed it out.

[ELPacman]

I was curious why Fury didn't throw the uppercut that much as he did in their first and had pretty good success. I think Usyk neutralized that angle and it made Fury hesitant to throw it as often. Fury probably came in with the idea to just out muscle and bully right through Usyk this time around. He had the mindset that he's knocked out all his opponents he rematched and this would be no different. Not to mention, he was able to stand up to one of the biggest punchers and KO him, why wouldn't he think he could do the same to little ole Usyk? The problem was probably the weight he put on and movement from Usyk. He couldn't catch him as easily as he did their first fight, then the weight tired him more than before. It was a bad recipe for a game plan that they couldn't put into practice.

I honestly had Usyk winning probably the entire fight minus, what the first or 2nd rd? I forget cause I started it when it had already begun, though the point I already started it, Usyk appeared to be in control and it was only the replay they showed that appeared Tyson had won the previous. I don't recall they even showed many punches in the replays during the entire fight where it was showing Fury landing anything of significance. It was always Usyk. I'm not saying replays are indicative of what happened but it pretty much was for this fight.

[IronDanHamza]

First half was competitive but as usual Usyk takes over second half.

It’s so hard to win rounds against Usyk down the stretch. Even the “closer” rounds are hard to score against him because he’s so much fresher and cleaner with his work compared to his opponent.

[crimsonfalcon07]

A lot of people don't seem to have taken into account the difference in percentage landed. Usyk was in the 40's, landing more punches than Fury despite throwing, if memory serves, as something like 100+ fewer, while he also held Fury to a percentage in the 20's. I think it's one of the more useful statistics because it shows how efficient the fighters were, whether one had significantly better defense or whether the flashy moments one fighter appeared to have actually weren't even scoring because the other one was neutralizing them, etc. If you have a clear disconnect in land percentage, that usually correlates nicely with the fighter who was controlling the fight. Not always, and of course there will be counter examples, but it can really provide perspective that might be missing otherwise.

I also don't really know why people think Fury was on the front foot, because he spent most of the fight on the back foot, with Usyk holding center ring. When that's happening against a guy who's got a 55lb weight advantage, 7" height and reach advantages, who's supposed to be "being the bigger man and imposing his size" on the "middleweight", it should be very clear who the better man is.

Many rounds were competitive, don't get me wrong, but Fury lost most of them.

[famicommander]

There's a big difference sometimes between a competitive fight and a close fight. It wasn't a blowout in the sense that the rounds were for the most part quite competitive, but for me Usyk still won 10 of the rounds so the score looks wide.

[NihonJim]

Agree with pretty much all of that.

Fury gave a pathetic effort imo, he just doesn't have the dog in him anymore and personally I don't think he's had it for ages.

It goes back to the Ngannou fight, Fury got embarrassed by the wrestler, and going into the last couple of rounds it felt like the scores were very close, I felt fury has to put it on him now, Ngannou was gassing and fury just played it safe.

You aren't beating Usyk with this type of mentality, you need to be going in there confident and relishing having a fight.

Fury should have retired after beating Whyte, he has been conning the fans ever since in my opinion, he doesn't really want to be in there anymore he just wants the big Saudi paycheques, it's dishonest and leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

[dan_cov]

First half was competitive but as usual Usyk takes over second half.

It’s so hard to win rounds against Usyk down the stretch. Even the “closer” rounds are hard to score against him because he’s so much fresher and cleaner with his work compared to his opponent.

His conditioning is unbelievable especially considering he is fighting guys who are naturally so much bigger, there is nothing more energy sapping than fighting a much naturally bigger man. 37 and carrying 220-224lbs and in perpetual motion and he just gets stronger.

Even at CW it was often very similar you'd have the odd fighter doing well maybe even edging out 2-3 rounds but they would have to work so hard for it then suddenly he'd surge and decisively take pretty much all the rounds down the stretch.
Its very clever boxing

[hugh grant]

Fury did disgusting compared to what he said he was going to do to usyk. Similar to floyd saying he was going to ko pac, but was in survival mode whole fight. Not saying usyk won easy or it wasn't competitive though

[jas]

i think you nailed it

i dont think fury trained hard at all from what we saw

he was tired from round 6 onwards