Four-time super-middleweight world champion Carl Froch has offered his thoughts on last Saturday’s undisputed heavyweight title showdown and explained one key difference that could have helped Tyson Fury beat Oleksandr Usyk.
Usyk made history as he became the first ever four-belt undisputed heavyweight champion and just the second fighter to hold the undisputed crown at both cruiserweight and heavyweight.
The Ukrainian overcame significant physical advantages and utilized his superior boxing intelligence to walk down ‘The Gypsy King’ throughout the contest, applying effective pressure and banking the later rounds after almost stopping his fellow champion in the ninth-round.
Usyk got the nod on the judges’ scorecards with a legendary split-decision win on a truly historic night of boxing. However, regardless of the skills on display inside of the ring, Froch was underwhelmed by the atmosphere outside of it, telling Lord Ping that Fury would have benefited if the contest was staged elsewhere.
“A fight for the heavyweight undisputed titles in Saudi, come on, it felt flat didn’t it? The whole thing was flat, a fight of that magnitude warranted an atmosphere. I go to a boxing match for the atmosphere, the noise, the passionate crowd and the euphoria of being at a live event.
“With a better atmosphere, maybe Tyson would have started a bit quicker. And maybe he would have been lifted when he had success in rounds five and six. If that fight was at Wembley stadium, would he have upped his game when he had Usyk hurt with that uppercut? I think so, the Wembley crowd would have lifted him. In the last three rounds there was no noise.
“I think Fury could have beaten Usyk if the fight was at Wembley. If that fight was at Wembley Stadium we would have gotten more out of Fury, it would have lifted him to the next level in a close fight.
“When I fought Kessler I went for the finish in the later rounds, that was because of the crowd. When I battered Lucian Bute in Nottingham, that was the crowd helping because they were going crazy. There’s a strong argument that if that fight was at Wembley Stadium Fury would have beaten Usyk because of the crowd [being] behind him.”
It appears as though Tyson Fury will get his chance to exact revenge on the undisputed heavyweight champion, with talks of a rematch in October being confirmed by his promoter, Frank Warren.
Although, in adherence with the terms agreed to in the initial contract – which included the two-way rematch clause, any second battle between the heavyweight rivals will also take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Furthermore, the rematch will not be for the undisputed title, with the IBF expected to strip Oleksandr Usyk of their world title within a matter of days, in order to put the belt on the line in the upcoming bout between Filip Hrgovic and Daniel Dubois.
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