Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury are set to renew their rivalries later this year.
In the first undisputed fight for nearly 25 years, Ukrainian southpaw Usyk took a points win after managing to outwork Fury in a close contest. The ninth round in particular was what helped swing it for Usyk when he caught Fury clean and sent him backwards into the ropes and given a standing count from the referee.
Hall of Fame inductee and former multi-weight world champion Roy Jones Jr was looking on and believes that the work rate of Usyk was the difference.
Speaking to Betway, Jones made it clear he expects the rematch to be repeat rather than revenge.
“I don’t really think so. It could happen, but in that fight, Usyk found out that he can hurt Tyson Fury. He knew that coming in, but he’s found out now that he can hurt Fury for sure. The smaller man now knows he can hurt the bigger man.”
He then doubled down and gave more reasons why he would be backing Usyk.
“Usyk is favourite for the rematch and now here is the thing – Tyson Fury is a very smart guy and is really good at making adjustments, but Usyk, in my humble opinion, comes through him again. Now that Usyk knows he can hurt and beat Fury, he could now underestimate him in the rematch. But we all know Fury has been knocked down seven times.”
The two will meet again on December 21 in Saudi Arabia but it’s still unclear whether all the belts will be on the line again after the IBF threatened to strip Usyk for not fulfilling mandatory duties.
