Tyson Fury is currently dealing with something he never has before in the sport of boxing – bouncing back from defeat.
The Morecambe heavyweight lost out to Oleksandr Usyk in their undisputed title fight, suffering a brutal ninth round that resulted in a count from the referee and ultimately a loss on the cards. The rematch is set for December 21.
Former heavyweight world title challenger Dillian Whyte – who made a low-key return to the sport in March after he was cleared to box when a doping investigation found he had used a contaminated supplement – told IFL TV that it was possible for his former opponent to win second time around but questioned if he was the same fighter he used to be.
“It’s heavyweight boxing so anything is possible and you can’t write Fury off but maybe these hard fights he’s had have taken a toll on him, you never know, he’s human and he’s had a lot of hard fights, a lot of knockdowns and maybe it’s taken a toll on him and maybe he’s not even bothered or motivated anymore.
If he trains right he’s big so stands a chance but Usyk’s self confidence will be through the roof and before he thought he could outbox him but now he knows he can hurt him so it’ll be a much more difficult task [for Fury] this time around.”
Fury was in a demanding trilogy with Deontay Wilder before two more straightforward title defences against Whyte and Chisora. The bout before Usyk was against Francis Ngannou, in which the Brit was knocked down heavily before scraping a split decision win.
