As fight fans know, Tyson Fury suffered a cut eye in sparring which forced the delay of his massive, four-belt unification showdown with rival heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk. The fight now set for May 18 in Saudi Arabia, it has been suggested the cut Fury suffered could reopen on the night and that Usyk could get the stoppage win that way.
Usyk, who says his strategy is “to win,” will of course target the cut, so says promoter Frank Warren. However, as Warren explained when speaking with Sky Sports, Fury will target Usyk’s body in the fight. Warren says he has no doubt his guy Fury, the bigger, taller man, will win the fight by KO.
“Well, I would,” Warren said when asked if he thinks Usyk will go for Fury’s cut eye. “Of course he will [try to reopen it]. He had a worse cut against [Otto] Wallin. Tyson had a dreadful cut in that fight and won the fight convincingly with a bad cut, a real bad cut. He’s got plan A, plan B and a plan C and more important, he’s got a big heart. One thing about Tyson, if he senses a crack or sees any weakness, he’s the biggest exploiter of it and that’s why it’s going to be such an exciting fight. On the other hand, Usyk might feel from the Ngannou fight there are some things that he can exploit and I’m sure he will.”
It is indeed a fascinating fight and we fans seem to have been waiting the longest time for it. It would be a shame for Fury if the cut did reopen and played a major part in his downfall. Warren, though, says Usyk’s ability, or inability, to take body shots will be the biggest factor in the fight.
“His Achilles’ heel, as I’ve said, and I’m surprised the so-called experts never picked up on it, has always been his body,” Warren said of the Ukrainian. “Daniel Dubois, that’s what he was trained for, to go and exploit that and he nearly pulled it off.”
It will be interesting to see how Usyk handles Fury’s shots to the body, and whether or not Fury can rough Usyk up in there. In terms of ring IQ, both men score highly. Indeed, apart from the size difference, this fight is incredibly evenly matched. With six weeks to go until fight night, can YOU pick a winner?
Warren believes Fury will stop Usyk, but might it prove to be the other way around?
“I think Tyson will knock him out,” Warren said. “Like I predicted he would knock out Wilder in the second fight. I really fancy him to do that.”
Let’s all just hope the fight actually goes ahead without a hitch this time. This fight cannot suffer another delay. We’ve waited long enough, and so have the two fighters.
