Tyson Fury And Oleksandr Usyk The final face off in Saudi Arabia on Saturday to determine who will be crowned the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.
As both fighters go to battle to unify as undefeated champions, there will be little separating Fury and Usyk before the first bell, with the two heavyweights boasting contrasting styles on the canvas.
Boxing legend Johnny Nelson has provided Mail Sport with the ultimate guide to showpiece fights, looking at each boxer’s strengths and weaknesses and the tactics each camp prefers to employ.
Tyson Fury (left) and Oleksandr Usyk (center) will finally decide who will be crowned the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world on Saturday night in Saudi Arabia.
They each enter the clash as undefeated champions and boast contrasting styles in the ring
Boxing legend Johnny Nelson offers his ultimate guide to Saturday’s showpiece fight
strengths
anger
Size, weight, and reach are the basic advantages for the Fury here, but the most influential ones. If he comes under 18, he will be beaten.
Under the tutelage of genius nutritionist Greg Marriott, he streamlined his body because he was no match against Francis Nagano. Now he has better muscle structure but still has a healthy size.
While Fury can switch from orthodox to southpaw at will, many cannot. If you combine that with his physical attributes, it allows him to mix the dark arts with boxing, and it’s a tough combination to fight.
He can subdue and manipulate like he did with Deontay Wilder, while he likes to use his elbow, while like he did against Nagano, it looks like his forearm but is too hidden for the referee to spot.
Fury revealed his incredible body transformation on social media ahead of the Usyk fight
His size, weight and reach will be a big advantage over the Ukrainian on Saturday night
Usik
Usyk is in the ring with the brilliant boxer Fury. He will design for different angles of attack; He can change the hit but he is not comfortable.
Manny Pacquiao and Naseem Hamed are good examples of switchable guys. He drives the bamboo with his footwork. He keeps his front toe close to you so you think he’s within reach, but leans back, forcing his opponent to throw punches and overcommit.
Then wack, wack, wack – he quickly catches you with counters. Anthony Joshua made that mistake more than once. He throws punches that he thinks he can reach, and Usyk is applying pressure with his legs.
Despite the lack of size by comparison, Usyk is the smartest boxer Fury has ever faced.
weaknesses
anger
Fury has shown his ability to be beaten by shorter men. He has scar tissue around his eye that can open up, and when he plays it down, it’s a weak part of his makeup.
As he reminds everyone that he is a ‘fighting man’, his strength is also his weakness. That means he is willing to do whatever it takes to win. That builds confidence, but under pressure it can be a dangerous flaw, as he will resort to actions that can get him into trouble with the referee.
I feel his approach to fighting Ngannou has more than enough people to elevate him to god-like status. My old trainer Brendan Ingle always said ‘don’t believe the hype’ because as we’ve seen with so many champions, Mike Tyson is an example, being surrounded by too much hype can mess with your mindset.
The 35-year-old boxer has scar tissue around his eye that could open up — one blow came recently in sparring, the other from a nasty cut against Otto Wallin.
Fury struggled during his narrow win over former UFC champion Francis Ngannou, perhaps because many around him elevated the Gypsy King to god-like status.
Usik
Usyk’s kryptonite is a body shot. He was caught in the amateurs last August when he hit the ground like he was shot against Daniel Dubois.
The reaction was a nervous spurt of anticipation, he hadn’t thought of what was to come. The important thing is that he always has the willpower to get back up.
Tony Bellew, who lost to Usyk, would be a nightmare for the Ukrainian to get Fury on the back foot in this fight, but I don’t buy it. Fury leads the way, pressures, finds gaps.
Usyk’s kryptonite is a body shot – the Ukrainian caught last August against Daniel Dubois
Tricks
anger
Tyson Fury is a master of boxing forehand. He works on his opponents for months before the fight, trying to disable the buzz, mood, and get into their psyche. He’s already working on Anthony Joshua’s mindset and convinced Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora that he’s their friend before beating them.
He sucks at you, but Uzick isn’t buying it. He’s cute, pretends the barbs are lost in translation, and doesn’t understand English very well. He has since responded to Fury’s differing views on being ‘a bit bipolar’. This is confusing for Fury, so you see his father John and entourage riot to create a little dramatic distraction.
It’s all part of the plan and Fury needs to dictate the pace when it comes to the ring.
Usik
Uzick has similar dimensions to Muhammad Ali. He has fought five big guys and his fighting weight is on par with Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield.
He has good size and great mobility, but Fury can counter that by moving his feet to impress Usyk. Then, bend his knees and lean that extra weight on top of him. His height and reach count, tie Usyk in the clinch, use those dark arts and wear down his opponent.
Fury is comfortable in those situations when fighters complain; For example if Usik bites him, he doesn’t bat an eyelash, he just keeps grinding him down.
Fury is a master of the boxing foreplay, landing on his opponents head before the killer blow. Pictured: Gypsy King lands a big right hand to the face of Deontay Wilder (left)
Uzyk’s corner during the fight should put as much pressure on the referee as possible
Instead, Usyk’s corner should put as much pressure on the referee as possible. When Floyd Mayweather fought Ricky Hutton, they knew Ricky would use his elbows and forearms to fight rough. They pressed the ref every time Ricky’s head got close. It means that Ricky never found the rhythm.
Fury must do the same to keep Usyk in the corner from settling, which opens the door for counter shots.
Prediction
I had a dream, seriously, they are usually accurate. Tyson Fury was yelling, ‘I should have won!’ So with that in mind, I’m taking Fury to win on a controversial points decision.
