Tyson Fury has a new feeling heading into his big rematch vs Oleksandr Usyk later this year – it is the first time ever he has tried to bounce back from a professional defeat.
‘The Gypsy King’ suffered a heartbreakingly close defeat by the Ukrainian genius when they locked horns to decide who would be boxing’s first undisputed world heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis back in 1999.
Their showdown on May 18 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia lived up to all of the pre-fight hype – it was an epic showdown for the ages. Fury appeared to be boxing beautifully in the middle rounds as he toyed with the smaller Usyk. But then disaster struck for the Morecambe man (now 34-1-1).
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In a pivotal ninth round, Usyk blasted Fury all around the ring and had the British star literally out on his feet. Somehow Tyson would survive to the bell and regain his composure, but that 10-8 round would prove crucial when the split decision result was later read out by Michael Buffer.
What went wrong for Tyson Fury?
After the defeat there was obviously heavy focus put on what might have gone wrong for Fury – and many experts claimed there was too much confusion and chatter in the corner of ‘The Gypsy King’. A corner headed up by Kronk disciple Javan ‘Sugar Hill’ Steward.
Steward has been a revelation in his work with Fury since the pair first got together for the British superstar’s devastating rematch demolition of Deontay Wilder in February 2020. But as ever when a top boxer loses a fight for the first time, speculation begins about whether he will make changes.
The answer this week from Fury was a resounding negative as he spoke to Paul Dempsey for an interview posted on the YouTube channel of new boxing game Undisputed. ‘Sugar Hill’ will again head up the corner for the rematch, again in Riyadh, on Saturday December 21.
Fury reveals corner decision
He revealed: “I know what I’ve got to do, nothing drastic. People can say ‘I want to change trainers or I’ll blame it on me conditioning coach or I’ll blame it on the cook or I’ll blame it on the mouse next door.’ Same team, same everything. I know what I’ve got to do.
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“I thought I won the fight last time. I give him, me boxing all my life and watching boxing me whole career, I give him rounds eight, nine and ten, and round nine was a 10-8. So that’s what I give him out of the fight, but obviously the judges saw it a bit different, couple of them did. One of them had me winning. That’s what it was. It was as close as it can be.”
