Tyson Fury will be allowed to fight with a long beard on Saturday night against unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk. Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs) chose not to shave, and was given the green light to compete with a lumberjack-like beard.
Usyk's team reportedly complained about the beard and wanted Fury, 36, to shave it off, but he has no intention of doing so. The rationale behind his long beard is unclear, but some believe it helps protect his chin and keep him from being hurt again by Usyk's powerful left hand.
Why beard now?
Fans believe the large beard provides extra protection against punches to the chin, as Fury was injured in the first fight. If this is the reason why Fury chose to keep his beard, it gives a glimpse of a desperate man willing to do anything to win.
The clean-shaven Fury was rocked hard in the ninth round by Yasar Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) in their first fight on May 18 and was saved by the referee, who gave him a timely eight count. .
“He's got a beard, and there's been a lot of fighters over the years who've fought with beards, and that's about it,” Fury's promoter Frank Warren told Sky Sports Boxing.
Fury's decision to grow a long man-mountain beard suggests he's absolutely desperate for a win, as he looks for every possible angle to get the W on Saturday night against his former conqueror Usyk. Gyspy King must win to get the trilogy match against Usyk that Turki Alalshikh wants to happen.
Is Fury trying to win Turkey's favor by growing a beard? I wouldn't be surprised if this was one of the Gypsy King's motivations for growing a beard, along with protecting his chin.
Desperate anger
There is a lot of money for Fury if he can get the third fight with Oleksandr, in addition to the two potential fights against Anthony Joshua.
We don't really know why Fury chose to fight with a beard, as he approached his rematch with Usyk differently than his previous fights. He claims he has not spoken to his wife Paris for three months since the start of his training camp. If this is true, it indicates that Fury desperately wants to win and will do everything in his power to achieve victory.
Fury seems to have gone through an accelerated aging process since his loss, and you can see that the defeat took a toll on him on a mental level. People age in times of stress, and it seems like it's been 10 years since his first fight with Oleksandr.
Given how desperate Fury is for a win, hopefully he won't resort to fouling Usyk on Saturday night. Current and former fighters have come out of the woodwork to recommend that Fury rough up Usyk to help him win.
