Promoter Oscar De La Hoya selects Tyson Fury to avenge his loss to WBA, WBC and WBO heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk tonight. Live on DAZNIt is expected that the Gypsy King will win by knockout in Riyadh.
De La Hoya says he sees something in Fury's (34-1-1, 24 KOs) eyes that makes him believe he's going to win. He feels Fury, 36, wasn't there mentally in his 12-round split decision loss to Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) earlier this year on May 18.
Can Fury avenge his loss?
Oscar believes former WBC heavyweight champion Fury's 55-pound weight and power advantage would be too much for the 226-pound Usyk, who began his career at cruiserweight.
Fury weighed 281 pounds at the weigh-in on Friday. Although Fury will likely be five to six pounds lighter given his weight wearing a leather jacket, he will still outweigh Usyk by more than 40 pounds tonight.
One area that De La Hoya failed to mention is Fury's fragile resistance to punches. He was hurt by Usyk in the ninth round, taking 20 straight shots to the head before being saved by the well-meaning referee, who gave him a bizarre standing count of eight.
That was only seven months ago, not enough time for Fury's head to recover from what he endured on that tour. If Usyk taps Fury on the chin, he could go exactly the same as before. There won't be that referee to save him this time with another useful stat of eight.
Oscar Forces Fury KO
“I love Tyson Fury. I see something in his eyes. I see something in his soul, and I just think the first fight they had, I don't think Tyson was there (mentally),” Oscar De La Hoya told Fighthype. YouTube The channel talks about the first match between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk on May 18.
“This time, I see him focused, I see him determined, I can see him knocking out Usyk,” De La Hoya continued. “I think that's a good thing. A 50-pound difference is a pretty big advantage,” Oscar said of Fury out-edging Usyk by 55 pounds during the weigh-in.
“I think if Tyson lands a perfect punch, Usyk will go down, and I love Usyk. He's the best boxer and heavyweight in a while. I think Tyson's reach and IQ in the ring will probably overshadow Usyk this time around.”
Fury will need Usyk to stay still so he can take him down if he hits him with a shot, as he lacks the one-hit power to get the knockout.
“I'll go with Fury,” Amir Khan said. “He will be more than ready because Fury has that natural talent. He is more technically gifted and bigger than them. I had Fury win this fight because he is bigger and stronger. He will learn from the mistakes he made in the first fight. The one thing about Fury is that he adapts very quickly .
“In the fights against Wilder in the first two fights, he adapted a lot going into the third fight. That's the one thing about Fury. He's one of those fighters who is always adapting and always improving. He's always learning from his mistakes and becoming a better fighter,” Khan said.
