Tyson Fury may be compelled to showcase his remarkable strength of character when he locks horns with Oleksandr Usyk this Saturday.
In their first encounter, ‘The Gypsy King’ survived a hellacious ninth-round onslaught before losing a fiercely contested split decision, suffering his first professional defeat.
And yet, his show of determination to hear the final bell was perhaps the biggest discussion point that emerged from their thrilling clash back in May.
But this tremendous power of recovery, of course, is something that Tyson Fury had demonstrated before his showdown for the undisputed heavyweight crown.
Referee Jack Reiss recalls Tyson Fury’s ‘Undertaker’ moment against Deontay Wilder
During the infamous ninth round of his battle with Oleksandr Usyk, Fury suffered a standing count once the referee identified that the ropes had kept him up.
This decision, however, swiftly sparked a heated debate among boxing fans, with some believing that the fight should have been waved off.
Others, meanwhile, agreed with Mark Nelson’s willingness to give Fury a second chance, allowing him to get a foothold in the 12th round.
Ultimately, in these instances, the referee can have an enormous impact on a fighter’s momentum, dictating whether they are in a fit state to continue.
But Fury has found himself in a similar position before, most notably when he faced WBC titlist, and formidable puncher, Deontay Wilder in 2019.
Sure enough, the Brit was seemingly knocked out in the 12th round of their dramatic contest, until referee Jack Reiss issued a count after analysing his body language.
To everyone’s surprise, Fury was able to climb up from the canvas and dominate the rest of the round, before slugging his way to a controversial draw.
“When I asked Wilder to go to the corner, and I picked up the count, when I turned back around, one of the things that I instinctively noticed was that Tyson’s right foot was up,” Reiss told TNT Sports Boxing.
“It wasn’t caught under his left foot. It was up; he was holding it up on his own, which told me he’s probably not [knocked] out.”
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Will Tyson Fury experience a similar situation in his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk?
Now that referees from around the world have seen exactly what Fury is made of, one would suspect that, in any case, he should be given the benefit of the doubt.
The 36-year-old has, after all, proven that he has the capacity to come back stronger, even after feeling the full wrath of both Wilder and Usyk’s attacks.
Still, Fury’s predicament in his first assignment against Usyk indicated that, at this late stage in his career, his extraordinary powers could be slowly diminishing.