For most it will be impossible to imagine just what it is like to get repeatedly punched in the face and have nowhere to hide. Oleksandr Usyk has now attempted to describe what it felt like to take an uppercut from Tyson Fury.
Just last month Usyk was in the ring with ‘The Gypsy King’ in what was one of the biggest fights in recent times. The former undisputed cruiserweight put his WBA, WBO and IBF belts on the line against WBC and lineal champion Fury in the first undisputed heavyweight fight since 1999.
It was an engaging battle that saw both men have periods of success and both take several heavy shots. The biggest was from Usyk in the ninth round, sending Fury spinning onto all four sides of the ropes before eventually being given a count by the referee.
That was enough for Usyk to run out split decision points winner after twelve and claim his place in history. In the rounds leading up to that knockdown, Fury was having real success, rocking the Ukrainian with looping uppercuts.
Speaking to The 3 Knockdown Rule, Usyk discussed the moment he felt that power from the 260lbs Brit.
” I got uppercut you know, it’s like very pain. Hard pain. I feel maybe 10 seconds I say hey, God, thank you, help me. I say to myself hey Alex, move, move. If you stop, he’ll kill you.”
His manager Egis Klimas then added what Usyk said to him about the uppercut after the fight.
“It was such a big pain I can explain only one thing, it felt like my tooth came out.”
Usyk revealed after the fight that it was an old dental implant that had been impacted and is what gave him the extra pain. Right now he is resting up before the contracted rematch on December 21st will see both men do it all again.
