Karl Froch believes Tyson Fury will be knocked out if he fails to score a knockout of Oleksandr Usyk in the fourth round on Saturday. Froch believes Fury weighs too high at 281 pounds to avoid fading and losing to unified heavyweight champion Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) in a rematch at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh.
If “Gyspy King” Fury fades after three or four rounds, he will likely be knocked out by Usyk. The referee who saved Fury last time out by standing up eight times at the right time in the ninth round will not work in Saturday's rematch. So, Tyson will be alone, needing to pull himself out of hot water without help.
Fury decided to bulk up with the desperate belief that he could use the weight to gain more power and perhaps rely on Usyk to wear him down. He used those tactics against Deontay Wilder, Dillian Whyte and Dereck Chisora.
This style was taught to Fury by his coach SugarHill Steward, but it was just a game plan that worked against the three limited fighters above. She has been ineffective against Fury's last two opponents, Usyk and Francis Ngannou.
Endurance doubts
“Just the confidence, the smile, the poise that Usyk has. He just oozes class today. With the first fight going the way the ninth round went, it made him the favorite all week, and I'm more confident,” Carl Froch said. Boxing in the match hallpicked Oleksandr Usyk to win Saturday night in his defense against Tyson Fury.
“You can't write off Tyson. He's a big kid. He's strong, but I think he's too heavy (281 pounds). That's 20 stone. If you don't get him out of there in the first three or four rounds, he's going to blow a gas gasket. He's going to fill that extra weight on himself.” I don't think he provided himself with any additional services.
“I could be wrong. He might go in there and lean on Usyk, grab him, try to get him out of there. That has to be his game plan,” Froch said.
Fury appears to lack confidence in himself, and his coach Sugarhill has no ideas other than the game plan that worked in the Wilder fight. Fury was united by one idea: to try to bully Usyk.
“Take off the leather clothes, and let's say he's down to 277. He's been there before. 'I didn't like him at that weight,'” commentator Steve Pons said of Fury. “That's when he's slow and cumbersome. Clearly this is the plan. This is a great plan, but what will happen in the sixth round if Usyk avoids all risks? All that weight takes its toll.
“Usyk, with his clothes, is probably exactly the same as he was in the last fight because that's who he is. He's a scientist.”
