Tyson Fury has tasted Oleksandr Usyk‘s power and now he must do so again in December.
The Ukrainian southpaw has never particularly relied on his ability to knock out his opponents. He has stopped just 14 of the 22 men he has faced in the professional ring, which gives him a 63.64% ratio that is well below many of his heavyweight peers.
All but one of those stoppages came down at cruiserweight where Usyk famously became undisputed champion before moving up and defeating the likes of Derek Chisora, Anthony Joshua twice across back to back 12 round battles, and Daniel Dubois, who is the one-man he managed to finish inside the distance in the top division.
When he came up against ‘The Gypsy King’ back in May for the undisputed title, Usyk sent Fury staggering around the ring with only the ropes to hold him up. The Brit rallied and saw out the 12 rounds only to lose a close points decision.
Speaking to Box Nation, Fury was asked to rate the Ukrainian’s power after being seriously hurt in the ninth round in May.
“Listen, he’s not like a feather duster puncher but he’s not a Deontay Wilder puncher obviously. He’s got his knockouts but I wouldn’t say he’s the biggest puncher I’ve ever faced and I wouldn’t say he’s the lightest.”
Fury has vowed to ‘make Usyk pay’ for missing up his Christmas plans in the return fight set for December 21. That, he promises, will come in the form of taking the fight out of the hands of the judges this time around, as he did in his epic rematches with Deontay Wilder which saw him win by KO twice after a draw in their first meeting.
