Commentator Andre ‘SOG’ Ward says IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk (19-0, 13 KOs) won’t beat WBC champ Tyson Fury because he doesn’t possess the “mass” to defeat the big 6’9″ Gypsy King.
Despite being considerably smaller, the former undisputed cruiserweight champion Usyk recently defeated 6’6″, 240-lb Anthony Joshua by a 12 round unanimous decision last month on September 25th.
Before we can begin talking about a fight between Usyk and Fury (31-0-1, 22 KOs), Oleksandr must meet Joshua (24-2, 22 KOs) in a rematch next March and beat him.
Ward says Usyk CAN’T beat Fury
You can’t rule out a win for Usyk over Fury if the Brit comes into the fight as huge as he did last weekend against Deontay Wilder.
The mobility that we were accustomed to seeing from Fury years ago against fighters like Wladimir Klitschko in Wilder in their first fight in 2018 was missing last Saturday night in his trilogy with Deontay.
At 277 lbs, Fury is too heavy to move around the ring against the quick-footed Usyk and could lose to him even worse than Joshua did.
“He’s not going to beat Tyson Fury. Tyson Fury is just not some big lumbering guy. He’s skillful; he can fight,” said Andre Ward to Behind The Gloves.
“It’s just too much mass, I think [for Oleksandr], but Anthony Joshua has to fight Usyk in a rematch.”
The mass that Fury has put on will be his downfall against Usyk if he chooses to come into the fight close to 280 lbs.
The added weight didn’t prevent Fury from beating Wilder last Saturday, but only because ‘The Bronze Bomber’ had packed on a ton of useless muscle weight and had clearly ignored working on his cardio.
The slimmer 2018 version of Wilder at 219 lbs would have annihilated the heavy 277-lb Fury last Saturday. Fury has aged himself by putting on a lot of useless weight, and if he chooses to stay at that weight, his chances of besting Usyk are slim.
Fury still must satisfy his WBC mandatory commitments by defending against the winner of the October 30th fight between WBC interim champion Dillian ‘The Body Snatcher’ Whyte and Otto Wallin.
Unless Fury’s team asks the World Boxing Council to make him their Franchise champion, he’ll need to defend against the Whyte vs. Wallin winner in his next fight.
Fury might have his hands full with either of those two heavyweights, as we already saw with his war with Wallin in 2019.
Fury should retire after beating Usyk
“If successful, ride off into the sunset. He has nothing else left to prove,” said Ward in giving his advice for Fury to retire from boxing if he defeats Usyk and Joshua to become the undisputed heavyweight champion.
Why should Fury retire after beating Usyk or Joshua? That doesn’t make sense. If Fury beats either or both of them, there’s always the possibility of lucrative rematches against them and Wilder.
Fury would have these options after becoming the undisputed champion:
- Deontay Wilder
- Anthony Joshua
- Dillian Whyte
- Oleksandr Usyk
- Filip Hrgovic
- Andy Ruiz Jr
- Joe Joyce
- Daniel Dubois
- Jared Anderson
- Frank Sanchez
If Fury fights all those guys and wins, he can start thinking about walking away from the sport because he would have beaten everyone.
fury more or less strolled through wilder over 3 fights, each fight was different and he still taught him a lesson, usyk is not on the same level stephen, fury would play with him
@ Steven Said, Fury would stay on the canvas against Ali, Foreman, Holmes, Louis, Bowe, or any of the past top heavyweights, if a bum like Wilder puts him down and gives him the fight of his life shows us he his just King among bums. The skill level of today’s HWs is several levels below of what it was a just couple of decades ago. I stopped watching the oversize bums years ago, All the talent is in the lower weight divisions
Fury is beatable, just not by Wilder but he’s far from invincible
Fury is a skilled 6”9 with superb boxing skills. He’s leaps and bounds better than he was 3 years ago. Wilder has also gotten better but stills lacks the defensive discipline to beat someone of Fury’s caliber.
I don’t see anyone on this list bearing Fury or even lasting 6 rounds.
Does the author know anything about boxing? His comments makes no sense. Fury has superb boxing skills as a defensive fighter and sensational ability as an offensive fighter. Wilder is/has been a one trick pony his whole career. That’s why he’s constantly on the verge of losing all his fights, until he lands the right hand. The only thing in his Arsenal that he displays
“If Fury fights all these guys and wins”….should anyone else be added to the list??…Muhammad Ali …Joe Louis …Jack Johnson…oh wait they’re dead…
Fury would beat Ali, Louis and Johnson. But Fury won’t beat Usyk
“If Fury fights all those guys and wins”…the most ridiculous statement ever…Fury is 33…nowadays it takes an act of God to make one decent match…maybe Fury should fight till he’s 50!!??
Styles make fights. Fury could lose to any one of the top ten heavyweights. That’s why Otto Wallin gave him such a hard time.
Wallin gave him trouble because he was covered in ring rust and still out of shape. Same with the first Wilder/Fury fight. Wallin won’t trouble him now. Where’s awkward style “might” trouble Fury though