Tyson Fury suffered his first career defeat at the hands of Oleksandr Usyk in their undisputed clash in Saudi Arabia earlier this month, nearly being stopped by the smaller Ukrainian. The general consensus going into the fight was that if one man was going to win inside the distance it would be the 6’9 ‘Gypsy King’.
The natural heavyweight had his moments in the bout and had Usyk feeling the weight of his punches, but the former cruiserweight champion never really looked in danger of being badly hurt.
Fury on the other hand got rocked in the ninth round, only staying up with the help of the ropes and, although he was given a standing count, many feel the referee should have waved it off, with rival Deontay Wilder suggesting his former foe was ‘gifted’ the chance to continue.
Having been knocked down six times in his last nine fights but never been stopped, people are debating whether Fury’s chin is one of his best assets or one of his biggest vulnerabilities.
Speaking on the ‘Club Bellew’ podcast, head of Matchroom Boxing, Eddie Hearn, believes his punch resistance isn’t what it once was and that Anthony Joshua would take full advantage of that fact.
“I don’t think his chin is what it was. You saw that against Ngannou, he’s had a couple of real tough fights. I still think he has a good chin but it’s not what it was.
I feel its now the perfect time for Anthony Joshua, if he hits Fury on the chin the fight is over.”
Tony Bellew however disagrees with his old promoter, saying the fact that the 35-year-old has never been ‘slept’ proves it’s still his best asset.
“I think his chin is one of his best assets, nobody has slept him,”
Fury will get his chance to avenge his loss when he rematches Usyk on December 21 in Saudi Arabia.
