We have a new date for Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk, and after the hysteria caused by THAT CUT, we can now get back to talking about the actual fight.
Five days after Fury sustained that ‘freak’ injury in sparring, the bout has been rescheduled for Saturday May 18 – again in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
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The odds makers believe this is now virtually a ‘pick em’ fight with Fury (34-0-1) a very very slight betting favourite – a massive shift from a few months ago.
According to Fury’s promoter Frank Warren though, ‘The Gypsy King’ has the ability to capitalise on what he believes is a major Usyk weakness.
It’s something Warren says was highlighted during the brilliant Ukrainian’s recent outing – an ultimately successful defence of his IBF, WBA and WBO heavyweight titles against another Queensberry fighter, one Daniel Dubois.
On a balmy August night in Wroclaw, Poland, Dubois appeared to have Usyk (21-0) on the deck in the fifth round with a brutal body shot. Instead of a knockdown though, referee Luis Pabon ruled it a low blow and gave Usyk several minutes to recover.
Warren on Usyk weakness
Eventually the unbeaten former cruiserweight king broke down Dubois to stop him in Round 9, but Warren came away that night believing it had provided a blueprint for a future ‘Gypsy King’ victory.
He told Sky Sports: “I was at Usyk’s last fight, against Daniel Dubois, and Daniel Dubois – that for me was a genuine punch. He [Usyk] milked it, he got a four-minute break and he has previous for complaining and moaning when he gets caught to the body.
“Now he’s in with a guy [Fury] who is the master of taking advantage of any weakness. So as long as the referee’s strong, as long as we don’t get any of that nonsense – he [Usyk] does it a lot, he crybaby’s to the ref, he’s had previous for it about body shots.
“As long as the referee’s strong in that, then I’m really happy and I’m even more confident of Tyson in this fight than I was prior to him fighting Daniel Dubois.”
