Oleksandr Usyk is now undeniably the greatest heavyweight of this generation and possibly the greatest since the 1990’s, becoming the first ever undisputed four-belt champion of the division and just the second fighter ever to become undisputed at cruiserweight and heavyweight.
To do this, Usyk was able to overcome a near 40lb weight disadvantage to put an end to Tyson Fury’s reign and undefeated record. Here, we analyse three of the many elements of Usyk’s masterful game plan.
1. Intense Pressure
Much of the talk during the build-up to the contest was whether Tyson Fury could live with the output of Oleksandr Usyk, who is one of few fighters on the planet who can effectively throw punches without having to plant his feet – quite possibly the only man in the heavyweight division to be able to do so, making him a threat at all times.
Against Dillian Whyte, Derek Chisora and Francis Ngannou, Fury was able to dictate the pace of the bouts and control the rhythm of the fights but Usyk’s job was to take Fury out of this comfort zone and make him fight at an uncomfortable pace from early on, assumingly by making him attempt to match his own volume.
However, rather than push the pace with increased output, Usyk forced Fury to work by marching him down with relentless pressure from his feet rather than his hands. According to Compubox statistics, Fury threw 226 punches in the opening five rounds of the encounter, 79 more than Usyk and perhaps more notably, 109 more than he threw against Ngannou at that point in their fight.
Consequently, Fury found both his physical and mental fortitude pushed to the max against one of boxing’s greatest technicians, minimalizing any chances for him to catch his breath or allow his mind to switch off for a split-second.
In the ninth-round, we saw a momentary lapse in concentration from the Briton and Usyk used that opportunity to capitalize and effectively win the fight, dropping and hurting Fury in what proved to be the pivotal moment of the battle before banking the later rounds to take the lead on the scorecards.
2. Cornering
The pressure of Usyk was intense and unrelenting, but it was not just mindless, granite chinned bravery – it was all calculated. Usyk’s footwork is categorically the best in the division, but Fury’s has often been appreciated too. On Saturday night, it was proved that the feet of ‘The Gypsy King’ were no match to those of the London 2012 gold medallist.
Usyk simply did not allow Fury to take the centre of the ring, pushing him into and trapping him within the corners of the ring, before unloading with power shots and not expending energy with exchanges where he was not in this favourable position, surviving up until points where he had his man where he wanted him.
As much as Fury pretended to be enjoying himself whilst backed into a corner, mocking the famous ‘rope-a-dope’ of Muhammad Ali when he found himself involuntarily confined to the corners, that was not a place where he wanted to be.
Almost every moment of success from Usyk came with Fury being pinned to the corner or at least on the ropes, and after years of learning the aggressive, front-footed ‘Kronk’ approach under SugarHill Steward, Fury appeared to lack the know-how of how to turn the tides and regain control of where key exchanges were taking place.
3. The ‘go’ button, focus and sticking to the plan
Finally and most simply, Usyk did not deviate from the game plan. We’ve seen the best fighters on the planet lose early rounds but remain in control of the fight – Canelo did it with Billy Joe Saunders, Gervonta Davis against Rolando Romero and even Usyk himself when he faced Tony Bellew.
To say Usyk was happy to lose as many rounds as he did and that he was in complete control would be delusional, but the plan to put his foot down and takeover during the second-half of the bout was no coincidence.
Usyk had plenty left in the reserves after remaining focussed and pacing himself in the early stages whilst simultaneously making Fury work harder both physically and mentally.
The Ukrainian did not get drawn in by the antagonistic showboating of Fury, quite the opposite, as he backed off from his opponent and allowed the WBC champion to smile and enjoy himself, knowing that the judges would not be swayed by false confidence.
By the eighth round, Usyk knew he had to flick the switch and flick the switch he did, throwing 135 punches from rounds 8-12, compared to 125 in the seven rounds prior, and scoring the legendary knockdown in the ninth-round that proved so decisive.
Regardless of what can only be described as a generational performance from Oleksandr Usyk, much credit must be given to Tyson Fury – who went toe-to-toe with one of the most advanced boxing minds of all-time and came ever-so-close to defeating him.
Although Usyk has nothing left to prove to fans of the sport, the prospect of a rematch remains tantalising, with Fury unquestionably proven to be Usyk’s most arduous dance-partner.
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