Famed trainer and commentator, Teddy Atlas, has highlighted what he believes to be one of Tyson Fury’s few flaws that could have been taken advantage of by and opponent of in one of his most recent outings.
Fury has proven himself to be the best heavyweight on the planet in recent years, with only Oleksandr Usyk currently being in the same conversation as ‘The Gypsy King’.
However, with the pair still reportedly in talks to meet for a historic undisputed title clash, the Ukrainian may find himself looking for holes in Fury’s game which are yet to be exposed.
Atlas, who trained Michael Moorer to the heavyweight title in 1994, believes he has found a flaw that can be exploited by a heavyweight with decent footwork, such as Usyk.
In a video on his YouTube channel, the 66-year-old explained that the Brit has a nasty habit of falling in to clinch to attempt to impose his size, after landing a decent shot, and by stepping back and timing a proper punch, Fury is there to be hit.
“One of the flaws that Fury has is that he will throw, he’ll punch and then he’ll look to clutch [hold/grab]. So, he will punch and then he will fall in to grab you, when you get close to him.
What [Dillian] Whyte should have done, was be prepared for that, and when he went to grab him, step back, create a space and catch him when he is reaching in.”
Whilst Atlas’ observation was post-analytical as a response to Whyte’s defeat to Fury last year, the same idea’s can be applied to a potential clash with Usyk, who undeniably has the footwork to avoid the usual ‘big-manning’ of Fury.
However, where Usyk flourishes with his footwork, he lacks in punch power, leaving questions as to whether or not he can hurt the WBC champion even if he was to land the clean counter-punch that Atlas proposes.