Tyson Fury’s brother, Shane Fury, says he must adjust his mind and not just focus on physical adjustments for him to have a shot at defeating unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk in their rematch on December 21st.
Shane thinks that if Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs) does the same thing in preparation and fights the same way, it’ll be the same outcome as his 12-round split decision loss to Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) earlier this year on May 18th in Riyadh.
He feels that was a close fight that could have gone either way. Fans that had no dog in the hunt saw it as a clear 8-4 decision win for Usyk, who they feel was robbed of a knockout in the very controversial ninth round when the referee stepped in to give the A-side fighter Tyson a standing eight count. Shane doesn’t mention that little episode.
Shane doesn’t say how a different mindset will help his 36-year-old brother, Tyson, because his problems in his loss were related to his fragile punch resistance, lack of power, and Usyk’s technical superiority. None of those things will change in the rematch unless Fury has suddenly become younger, smarter, and more powerful since last May.
“If Tyson does the exact same thing as he did that night, bearing in mind that I thought Tyson boxed well that night. There were a few things wrong, but if Tyson does exactly the same thing as he done that night, we’ll have the same outcome, which is a close fight that could go either way,” said Shane Fury to iFL TV about Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk fight earlier this year on May 18th.
The previous Fury-Usyk fight could not have gone either way. It should have been a clear knockout win, Usyk, if not for the referee giving Fury an eight-count in the ninth round. Besides that, Usyk was up 4-2 after six rounds, then Fury won 7 & 8 but was dominated in rounds 9, 10, 11, and 12. Hence, the 8-4 win for Usyk. That’s NOT a close fight unless you have goggles on that favor Fury.
“If Tyson adjusts himself, he’ll have a different outcome. I believe that it’s not just adjusting yourself physically with the tactics,” said Shane. “You have to adjust yourself in the mind and follow it through.”
Shane doesn’t say what adjustments Fury can make to have a different outcome. If he fights in the center of the ring this time, he’ll be easy pickings for the master boxer Usyk. We saw last time that Fury is too big, slow, and old to fight Usyk in the center ring. Moreover, the holding & mauling that has become Fury’s bread & butter strategy for winning his fights since adding SugarHill Steward as his coach doesn’t work against Usyk. Fury was shoved away violently each time he tried to wrap Usyk in his cacoon of horror last May.
“I think so, yeah, but not that it was an issue,” said Shane when asked if Fury will come in heavier in the rematch with Usyk. “Tyson was seventeen and a half stone that night. Tyson has not been that in ten years, but he had two training camps. He did the full training camp before he got the cut. He was two weeks out when he got the cut.
“Then he got a rest, and he came back and got another training camp. At the end, it was like stoking a bonfire and trying to put it out with water. He couldn’t keep the weight on him. Hopefully, he comes in at his normal weight of around 18 and 10, and have the same style, and has the endurance to go do the same thing for longer. We think we can do it,” said Shane.
It seems that Shane is blaming Fury’s weight being too light for his excuse for losing to Usyk, which makes no sense. Fury was as big as a horse for his previous fight against novice Francis Ngannou and was beaten but given a controversial 10-round split decision on October 28, 2023.
Fury’s huge size in that fight didn’t help him, did it? Shane needs to face the reality that his brother, Tyson, isn’t that good and doesn’t possess the talent to beat fighters like Usyk or even Ngannou. That was a clear loss for Fury, from what many fans and I saw.
Some of it was related to Fury getting old, but he was never a good fighter from day one. His resume is mediocre, and fans who are either too lazy or unwilling to accept the fact are deluded.
