We’re officially just a few days away from one of the biggest rematches in heavyweight boxing history between ‘The Gypsy King’ and ‘The Cat’ in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Given the enormous size (both figuratively and literally) of the incoming heavyweight showdown, boxers from around the world are now offering their opinion on who’ll get their hand raised on December 21 – former champion Tyson Fury, or undefeated king, Oleksandr Usyk.
Ben Whittaker and Carl Froch discuss Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk 2
Speaking with former world champion Carl Froch via the ‘Froch on Fighting’ YouTube channel, Ben Whittaker offered his thoughts on the upcoming heavyweight rematch set for December 21 in Saudi Arabia.
“Usyk’s just great isn’t he, his mindset is amazing, and he knows how to get under your skin,” stated Whittaker, teasing that he’s slowly leaning towards the Ukrainian as the fight etches closer and closer.
“He’s [always] in front of you calm and collected so for me, I would probably edge towards more Usyk – but you can never write off Tyson… There’s no reason why he couldn’t [win], he’s big, he’s awkward and in the [first] fight, he was having his success.”
Whilst Whittaker noted that he thought Tyson was picking up the odd round here and there in their first fight, Usyk was able to take over as ‘The Gypsy King’ burned too much unnecessary energy by matching his pace.
“That’s the thing, for me, he was probably moving a bit too much [in the first fight], he was burning energy that he didn’t need to… But against Usyk, it’s hard [not to] … I would edge more towards Usyk, but I want the Brit to do it.”
Heading into their enormous rematch, which is aptly titled ‘Reignited’, Tyson Fury remains the slight underdog to the Ukrainian – and Whittaker can see why.
“It’s very hard [to bet against Usyk], and he’s so confident now that he’s beaten the big names so why not be confident… [Even when he’s had a bad round] he comes out better.
“In the first fight, I was like ‘Oh Fury’s got that [round] and he’s in his groove’ but then Usyk would nip it in the bud like what’s going on here.”
Fury’s trainer remains uncertain about ‘hectic’ cornering in Usyk rematch
Whilst Ben Whittaker is correct in his assessment that pacing will be a key issue in the upcoming heavyweight rematch, so will the corner work of The Gypsy King’s team.
John Fury was widely criticized for shouting over Tyson’s coaches during the later stages of the first fight, with Carl Froch slamming the patriarch of the Fury family at the time.
“That was bad. Terrible and really unprofessional in his corner… When you’ve got John Fury in the corner, screaming at you while you’ve got two other people giving you advice, that means you’re listening to absolutely nobody.”
Speaking with The Sun, trainer Andy Lee revealed that he was still uncertain of John Fury’s involvement in the corner, less than one week before the rematch.
“Who knows what will happen? I don’t. Last time the corner was hectic, especially towards the end of the fight. There were three different voices in there, SugarHill, John and me.
“I can understand, from a dad’s point of view, he was trying to protect his son… But SugarHill was trying to win the fight. I was told Tyson was two rounds down and I had to communicate that to him.”
Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk 2 is scheduled for Saturday, December 21 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.