By: Sean Crose
Let me be quite clear here – this Saturday’s undisputed heavyweight championship fight between WBC titlist Tyson Fury and WBA, IBF, and WBO titlist Olksandr Usyk is a judges’ nightmare. Why? Because it’s going to be hard, very hard, to pick a winner that’s even close to universally accepted. The fight is still days away, and I’m already sensing controversy in the judge’s cards. I don’t see either man finishing the other off early, after all. What’s more, I don’t see one dominating the other for any extended period of time either. This is going to be anybody’s fight until the final bell. And there’s going to be complaints afterward. I could be wrong, of course, but I’m comfortable in predicting controversy here.
That doesn’t mean the fight is going to be particularly great – bit it doesn’t mean the fight’s going to be terrible, either. The word here is “intriguing.” Here’s how I see it playing out: Usyk, with his lateral movement and accuracy is going to frustrate big man Fury early. In response, Fury will start really roughhousing in the middle rounds. This is Fury, remember, a man who elbowed Francis Ngannou, licked blood off Deontay Wilder and who holds like he’s Wladimir Klitschko. He’s going to grind aggressively at this point of the fight, and he won’t be afraid to bed the rules.
Which, of course, brings us to the last portion of the bout. Expect it to be close as the fight heads into the final rounds, with Usyk possibly a few rounds ahead. And that’s when the Tyson Fury show will come to town. Employing every last amount of energy he has, the giant Englishman will look elusive and awkward, as he did against Klitschko nearly ten years ago. He may not get the better of Usyk in those six important minutes, but Fury will convince two out of three judges that he has.
And that, of course, will lead to Fury winning by Split Decision after the cards are read – whether he does or doesn’t deserve the victory. Fury is the more colorful and lucrative of the two fighters, after all. Plus, people love a show, and Fury will give them one in those championship rounds. Then he’ll have to prepare for Usyk all over again in the guaranteed rematch. Who knows how THAT one will play out?