John Fury is adamant Tyson Fury must make stylistic changes to be in with a chance of beating Oleksandr Usyk as he believes the Ukrainian is a ‘world class boxer’ with superb ‘coordination’.
John says Usyk is a ‘tricky boxer’ with a good ‘intellect’ and worries Tyson could come up sort if he tries to use same style he deployed during his trilogy bout with Deontay Wilder.
John says the Gypsy King must alter his style to ensure he ‘set traps and poses problems for Usyk’, claiming Wilder was a ‘one trick pony’ that couldn’t actually box and only relied on power.
Despite airing his concerns over the people surrounding Tyson, John backs his son to emerge victorious on February 17 – stating the Gypsy King is ‘capable of anything in this world because of his mindset and his will to win’.
Nevertheless, John has encouraged Tyson so ‘eat, drink, sleep Usyk’ in the build-up to the fight, claiming whoever has the better camp will win the undisputed title in Saudi Arabia.
John Fury is adamant Tyson must make stylistic changes to be in with a chance of beating Usyk
Fury will fight Usyk for the undisputed title on February 17 in Saudi as part of Riyadh Season
Despite airing his concerns over the people surrounding Tyson, John backs his son to emerge victorious on February 17 – stating the Gypsy King is ‘capable of anything’
Speaking exclusively to Mail Sport, via Free Bets, about Tyson’s upcoming fight, John said: ‘That style he had for those three fights against Wilder will not beat Usyk. They’re two different people.
‘Usyk is a class boxer. He’s tricky, his coordination is good, his movement is good, he leans out of the way of punches and he’s hard to pin down.
‘If you can’t set traps and pose problems for a man like Oleksandr Usyk, he’s just going to make a fool out of you in the ring.
‘At the end of the day, that straight-up Kronk style, what he [Tyson] was doing with Francis Ngannou won’t work against Usyk.
‘Ngannou wouldn’t have been able to land a glove on the old Tyson. That style they’ve got only worked against Wilder because Wilder is a one trick pony.
‘Wilder couldn’t box going back, Wilder couldn’t box full stop. Wilder was there be hit. All Wilder had in his arsenal was a big punch and bravery.
‘He was a brave man with a big punch. But, that style [Tyson’s style], you wouldn’t need to be a brain surgeon to work it out.
‘It’s no good living off your morals on those wins. You’re fighting a man with different intellect here. You’re fighting a man with brains. He’s a very intelligent man and so is his team.
John says Usyk is a ‘tricky boxer’ with good ‘intellect’ and worries Tyson could come up sort if he tries to use same style he deployed during his trilogy bout with Deontay Wilder
Tyson was left battered and bruised following his victory over Ngannou in October 2023 – with many criticising the WBC heavyweight champion for his performance on the night
‘They’ve got to make some major adjustments to Tyson’s camp. Luckily, Tyson can win on a bad night. He will just revert back to what he wants to do anyway. If things aren’t going well, he will revert back to what he does best. It’s instinct.’
The Gypsy King will go toe-to-toe with Usyk in Saudi Arabia on February 17 to unify the division for the first time since Lennox Lewis beat Evander Holyfield in March 1999.
However, Tyson’s last performance against Francis Ngannou has raised some doubts as to whether the Gypsy King will be able to get the job done against the Ukrainian southpaw.
Tyson was left battered and bruised following his victory over Ngannou in October 2023 – with many criticising the WBC heavyweight champion for his performance on the night.
John was equally as unimpressed with his son’s performance but blamed the Gypsy King’s camp for the poor showing on October 28. He said: ‘Last time, Tyson’s camp was an absolute joke. What they were doing for 12 weeks, I have no idea. Lets hope it’s different this time.
‘Obviously I don’t know because I am not out there. What I say is irrelevant now, they [Tyson and Usyk] are going to fight anyway.
‘But, lets put it this way. The man with the best team, the man that has prepared the best, will win the fight on the night.’
The Gypsy King has been uncharacteristically quiet on social media after touching down in Riyadh to begin his training camp for the undisputed title fight on February 17.
When asked what he made of the radio silence, John said: ‘At least they’ve taken some notice from me. At this level, you’ve got to have nothing in your life. You’ve got to have no family, no business, nothing from the outside world can come into this camp.
‘He’s got to eat, drink, sleep Usyk. Nothing else. He appears to be doing that. What I said before about the camp, it needed to be said.
‘It needed a kick up the backside because it just wasn’t good enough. Maybe it took the Ngannou fight to bring the best out of Tyson.
‘Whether they [Tyson’s team] can the best out of him, whether they are good enough, remains to be seen.
‘They need to impress the hell out of me because they sure didn’t last time. I am hoping to see a nice lean Tyson, I am hoping to see some muscle on his body.
‘He can’t build-up that much in such a short period of time but they need to make a 380 degree turn. But, Tyson is capable of anything.
‘The Gypsy King is capable of anything in this world because of his mindset and his will to win. He’s got the heart to keep going and I think he can overcome anyone. I don’t think, I know.’
Despite insisting his son could beat any man put in front of him, John did question whether Tyson was right to relocate to Saudi Arabia for his training camp – leaving his ‘home comforts’ behind.
‘I would have gone to a rural area,’ John said. ‘The Lake District, South Wales or the Peak District. Somewhere you can get some solace and some proper fresh air, running up the hills in all weathers at 5am.
‘Then I would have gone to Saudi two weeks before, two and a half weeks before. But, the grinding could have been done here.
‘When he beat Klitchko, he was running over the hills at Lake Windemere. He was doing sprints and all kinds of grueling work up and down those hills.
‘He was doing the circuit training. Everything but the kitchen sink. I don’t think that will be possible from the hotel in Saudi – which is not much different to the room I am sitting here and doing this podcast with you.
‘You can’t beat working out in the fresh air. You can’t beat sprinting up the hills. He could have even gone to Tenerife.
‘Whether being in the hotel for two months will make him go stale or stir crazy, I don’t know. It’s the same thing every day. But, if he was here, there is something different to see every day.
‘The same scenery can take the edge of you sometimes, you can get sick of being there. Then you end up grinding in another way you don’t want. You get bored and you start thinking, I could do with not being here, I wish this was over.
‘South Wales would have been a great place. There is no place like home. All the greats like Muhammed Ali all trained at home.
‘Look what happened when Muhammed Ali came here. Henry Cooper nearly knocked him out. He had to go to school buggery to save the day. A man is half the man abroad. That being said, Tyson travels well.’