By Tom Donelson (BWAA) Member Boxing Writers Association of America – respected and honorable contributor to www.dmboxing.com since 2008
Oleksandr Usyk may be the best heavyweight of his generation, and he proved this as he defeated Tyson Fury for a second time in another tightly contested fight. Fury is his rival and the one who has been a leading heavyweight for the past decade since he defeated Wladmir Klitschko to take his title. Usyk was the older fighter and smaller fighter, who came up from the cruiserweight division before becoming the best heavyweight in the world and faced a big challenge against the bigger Fury. Since the Klitschko brothers left the heavyweight scene after dominating it from 2004 to 2015, fellow Ukrainian Usyk has added to Ukraine’s list of great heavyweights in this century.
Tyson Fury has had a history of adopting new tactics in a rematch as he showed in the Wilder trilogy. In his first fight, he boxed and nearly lost the fight but for a gutsy performance of managing to survive a brutal knockdown in round 12. In the rematch, he became the aggressor and used his height and weight to overpower Wilder. In their final match, Fury combined power and boxing skills to wear out Wilder and stopped him.
In their first fight, Fury landed 157 punches in a close fight with a connect rate of 32 percent whereas Usyk was the more accurate boxer landing 170 punches for 41 percent connect rate. Usyk wore Fury out in the later rounds. In the rematch, Usyk connected on 179 punches to Fury’s 144 punches and connected on a little over 42 percent versus Fury 28 percent. In ten of the rounds, Usyk landed more punches than Fury. And Fury did come in 14 pounds, or as the Brits would say, one stone heavier.
While this does not speak to the overall quality of the punches and many rounds were decided by one or two punches, this shows that Usyk connected more consistently throughout the fight versus Fury.
In the opening rounds, Fury opened up boxing and jabbing, even on occasions switching to southpaw. Usyk in the fourth round nailed Fury with two big left hooks and Fury countered with powerful rights and as time wound down, he unleashed a right upper cut. This round showed the competitive nature of the fight, and this round went Fury but in the previous third round, Usyk began to pressure Fury as he battered Fury to the body.
Halfway through the fight it was a close but as the second half proceeded, Usyk took control of the bout. Over the last five rounds he landed 54 percent of his power shots and overall, he landed more punches than any other Fury opponent. I had it 116-112.
Over the years, Fury has proven to be a good boxer with defensive skills, but Usyk’s boxing skills overcame Fury’s size, boxing skills and power and allowed him to win two closes but no doubt decisions.
Usyk was the Olympic gold medalist in 2012 and began his professional career in 2013 at the age of 26 and by 2016, he won his first title as he defeated unbeaten Polish fighter Krysztof Glowacki for the WBO Cruiserweight championship as he used footwork, and his superior hand speed to go with a spearing jab. He won the fight with an easy decision. He fought in the world boxing super series and Usyk defeated Mario Huck with a tenth round TKO in the semifinals when he defeated Mairis Briedis by a majority decision. This was a close fight as Usyk landed more punches with 40 percent power shots, but Briedis was more accurate with his shots.
Usyk defeated Murat Gassiey as he took control of the fight and using his jab, he neutralized his opponent’s power. This was complete domination as he connected nearly three times as many punches and Usyk defeated two undefeated fighters to gain control of the cruiserweight division.
From here he moved to the heavyweight division where he defeated Anthony Joshua in their first fight for the unified title and then in the rematch, Usyk won a split decision, but many felt this was an easy fight to score as Usyk landed 175 punches to 124 punches for Joshua and even landed 39 punches In the tenth round.
Fury was the second-best heavyweight in the world and these two fights were between two of the best heavyweights over the past decade. Usyk fought the best in two divisions and become the undisputed champion in two divisions.
As for Fury, do these two defeats hurts his chances of being in the Hall of Fame? For me, it doesn’t for Fury has been a dominant force in this division and his three fights with Wilder, the division’s most powerful puncher showed Fury’s boxing skills and power. In their first fight, Wilder nearly ended the fight with a powerful puncher, that sent Fury’s down face first, but he got back up to force a draw, but in their second fight Fury adjusted his strategy and was more aggressive to win an easy victory. In their third fight it was a brutal fight as he survived two knockdowns in the fourth round to stop Wilder in the eleventh round. After two fourth-round knockdowns by Wilder, Fury took control of the fight.
He defeated Wladimir Klitschko in 2015, who was the best at that time along with his brother Vitali, heavyweight of this century. Klitschko along with his brother dominated the heavyweight division from 2004 to 2015 when Fury defeated Klitschko. The original verdict was that Klitschko’s failure to beat Fury was age. Klitschko’s failure to land any punches was more thought that Klitschko couldn’t pull the trigger but now we can see that Fury was a pretty boxer and able to avoid getting hit.
After this big victory, Fury had his own battles with demons including drugs and depression which kept him out of the ring for three years. His comeback featured victories over Sefer Seferi and Planteia before he fought Wilder in their first fight. The fight ended in a draw and while many felt he won, it was a close fight, and he survived two knockdowns. Wilder was the favorite and considered the baddest puncher in the division, but Fury was the better technical fighter. I had the fight even due to two 10-8 rounds in Wilder’s favor, but others had Fury winning a by wider margin.
Fury and Usyk are now linked in boxing history and for the past decade, they have been two of the best heavyweights. No one will argue that Usyk is a Hall of Fame fighter, but Fury may deserve to be there.
