Tim Bradley thinks IBF, WBA & WBO heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk can win his fight with WBC champion Tyson Fury because he has a habit of backing up in straight lines, leaving his ample midsection open for punches.
Fury (33-0-1, 24 KOs) leans his long torso backward to make it difficult to hit him to the head and ride with the shots that do get through. However, he leaves his midsection wide and unprotected at all times.
The only reason Fury has gotten away with leaving his body open is because the only two quality heavyweights he’s faced during his career, Wladimir Klitschko & Deontay Wilder, were headhunters who never threw body shots.
Wladimir was 40 years old when he fought Fury without his long-time trainer, Emanuel Steward, who had passed away three years earlier in 2012. Wilder arguably knocked out Fury twice, but the referees in those two fights gave a big break by not stopping the contests.
The fighters that Fury has faced during his career have been mediocre guys like Dereck Chisora x 3, Dillian Whyte, Tom Schwarz & Otto Wallin.
Bradley feels that if Usyk can attack Fury’s body while he’s retreating and if he can avoid being grabbed, leaned on & mauled, he’s got a heck of a chance of winning. He still thinks the 6’9,” 270+ lb Fury will win due to his massive size advantage, but he’s not ruling out a victory for Usyk.
What Bradley didn’t discuss was Fury’s long layoff, the huge amount of weight he took off for his fight this Saturday against Francis Ngannou and the fact that he hasn’t fought a quality fighter in two years since his trilogy fight with Wilder in 2021. Those factors could impact Fury’s performances against Ngannou & Usyk.
“I was watching Fury the other night, and he’s a big guy, and we pay attention to what he does well, but we don’t pay attention to what he doesn’t do well. He boxes in a lot of straight lines, he does,” said Tim Bradley to Fighthype about Tyson Fury.
It’s been obvious forever that Fury backs up in straight lines, leaving his midsection wide. The other flaw that Bradley failed to point out was how Fury always leans against the ropes, leaving his midsection unprotected.
He’s only concentrating on ensuring his head isn’t there to be hit, so he leaves his midsection open.
Again, Fury’s opposition has been a ragtag group of lesser guys, with the exception of Wilder & Wladimir. If Wladimir was younger and still had Steward in his corner, he’d have beaten Fury for sure because he almost beat him without his legendary coach and being old.
“Yeah, he can box laterally, but he boxes in a lot of straight lines, and he’s been boxing in a lot of straight lines recently,” Bradley continued about the slow-moving 35-year-old Fury.
“If you go back and watch him against Wilder and watch the first couple of rounds. You see when he’s stepping back, he’s stepping back in a straight line. You’re going to see that if he continues that, Usyk will follow him out.
“He’s going to be looking to follow him out because Fury’s feet aren’t set. He’s not punching, and he’s just stepping back and trying to get out of range, and you’re going to see Usyk attacking his body a whole hell of a lot because he’s so tall, so big.
“It’s not like he crouches down and tucks his elbows in to block shots. He tried to get his whole body out of the way, and he’s pretty slow on his feet,” said Bradley about Fury. “Usyk is a little more quicker to the point with his footwork.
“Usyk is going to be looking to expose his body and to catch Fury on his way out in those straight lines. That’s when things are going to get interesting. If Usyk can not allow Fury to lay on him, tie him up, and to maul him, he’s got a good chance. He does have a good chance,” said Bradley.
