Over two months since Oleksandr Usyk became the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the century and still fans are revelling in what has to be considered as one of the greatest performances in the recent history of the division. With a rematch against Tyson Fury now just four months away, Usyk’s cutman has made a huge prediction.
After dominating the cruiserweight division and claiming the undisputed title with three victories in his opponents’ respective backyards, Usyk moved up to the ‘glamour division’ in 2019, although many felt that the slick Ukrainian would be too small to truly challenge for world honours.
However, the naysayers were proven wrong when Usyk beat Anthony Joshua in London to claim the unified titles in just his third contest at the weight, before successfully defending the belts in a rematch and then against Daniel Dubois. Despite strenuous negotiations and continuous delays, Usyk was then finally granted his dream of a shot at the undisputed heavyweight throne but was tasked with the 6’9” Fury in a legendary match-up.
Usyk managed to bank the early rounds, but Fury took control shortly after and appeared to be cruising towards a career-best performance and win, until Usyk upped the tempo and put his foot on the gas during the second half of the bout – almost stopping ‘The Gypsy King’ but still timing his surge perfectly to edge a split-decision win.
Speaking to Boxing Social, Usyk’s cutman Russ Anber explained why the rematch is less important than the first encounter but added why he believes that Usyk will put in an improved display despite this.
“To do it [win] again would be nice, but we did it when it counted, for the undisputed title. When everyone said that he wouldn’t do it, when everyone was picking Fury to win, we were the underdog going in – everyone thought that Fury was too big, too smart. Fury thought he was too big, too strong for Usyk and we did it the first time – that is what matters.
“Actually, to be honest with you, I don’t think that you saw the better [best] version of Usyk. The Usyk that you would have seen on the originally scheduled date would have been a better version of Usyk. The second fight [date] caused him to be a little bit stale if you will. He had peaked, he was ready to go, I think that you would have seen a completely Usyk. You might see that Usyk this time around.”
Once again, Oleksandr Usyk, Tyson Fury and the world of boxing will descend upon the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia this December, where a who’s who of familiar faces and a stellar undercard can be expected. Although, it remains to be seen whether ‘The Gypsy King’ will be available to avenge the lone blemish on his record and see out the win against one of boxing’s greatest ever minds this time around.
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