In 2013, the future leader of the heavyweight Briton Tyson Fury (32-0-1, 23 KOs) made his debut in the United States, beat former world champion division below the American Steve Cunningham.
During the fight, the guest was in a heavy knockdown in the 2nd round, after which he did not hesitate to use dirty tricks in battle – he often hit the back of the head, leaned on the opponent with all his weight and was even fined by the referee. Nevertheless, this is what allowed the big man to wear down the nimble opponent, and then to delay.
Cunningham is sure that such a number will not work with Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk (20-0, 13 KOs). The American believes that if the reigning heavyweight champions Fury and Usyk meet in a full-time fight in order to determine the absolute, then the victory will go to the underdog (according to bookmakers).
“Fury cheated. That’s the only way he managed to beat me, –
remembers Cunningham. – He himself admitted that it was I who was his most difficult opponent in his career. I just showed him how a kid fighter should box with him. That is why I constantly think about the Fury vs Usyk fight. This is a tough fight. Both of them have something to win. I’m a little more inclined in favor of Usyk’s victory. Possibly wins by split decision. Fury is not a puncher though. And don’t look at his record. These are just numbers. He first exhausted me, then knocked me out. The same thing happened in the fight with Deontay Wilder.
Cunningham explained why he believes in Usyk’s chances: “Points. First, he is about my height. He is very athletic and hardy. He is left handed. He is better than I was. Yes, he is definitely stronger. Why do I bet on Usyk? He will confuse Fury with his attack angles, his movements, his fighting IQ. His fighting mentality is just on some cosmic level, and his fortitude is unrealistic to measure. Secondly, Usyk has a solidly covered rear. He has power. I’m not talking about striking power, but about the business side of boxing. In the fight with me, Fury was allowed to do whatever he wanted. He fights like that. Even with Wilder, he threw a punch and immediately fell on Deontay with his whole body. I’m talking about the fact that at that time I didn’t have a solid promoter behind me, and my wife played the role of manager.”
The opinion of an American: “Alexander has a very powerful team. He has a manager, Egis Klimas. It’s just that people never think about such things when they talk about boxing. But that’s how it works here. They just won’t let Fury do the same things in the ring that he did against me. They have much more influence, power, money, connections than I had. All these factors are not in Fury’s favor. All this will force him to abandon his favorite tactics. Officials will tell him about this before the fight. And if he takes a risk during the fight, then he will simply be disqualified. Otherwise, he won’t win. I think I showed Usyk an example of how to fight Fury. I’m sure they will study this fight. There is a lot of good stuff in there.”
Cunningham believes that the advantage in anthropometry here is “not in favor of Fury. After all, Usyk will have enough height to get him. Exactly the same way I did it. Alexander does not need to invest in punches. And this is precisely its advantage. He doesn’t bet on the knockout. He takes the tonnage. And in vain you think that there is no power in these blows. I admit that Fury does not want this fight. This is a standard tactic to avoid a duel. You start demanding some unrealistic numbers. 500 million? No one will give you that much money. Even for Fury vs Joshua. I think he would have preferred not to fight Usyk at all. He now pretends that he is only interested in money. He demands more than he can be offered. That’s how he breaks this fight.”
Yesterday, Fury took a step towards the fight with Usyk: he decided to continue his career. And his promoter Warren heaps on Hearn: “His predictions are as good as hemorrhoids for a jockey.”
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