Promoter Eddie Hearn disagrees with Tyson Fury’s comment this week about him needing a knockout to get thie victory in his recent with undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk on December 21st in Riyadh.
Fury’s Refusal to Admit Defeat
‘The Gypsy King’ Fury stubbornly refused to admit that he’d lost the fight, trying to muddy the water, talking about how he should have won.
Hearn believes the former WBC heavyweight champion Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs) can win a decision against Usyk if he’s the better man on the night. For Fury to have a better chance of being victorious, Hearn suggests he fights aggressively.
In their fight on May 18th, Fury spent much of the time with his back against the ropes, taunting Usyk and looking like a picture of an older fighter unable to fight in the center ring. Fury’s body language looked horrible; he looked like an older guy unable to fight without needing to lean against the ropes to support him.
The judge who scored the fight to Fury 114-113 got it wrong in the minds of most fans, and he did him no favors with that scoring because it fed into his delusions about his deserving the win.
“I certainly don’t think Tyson Fury was robbed or unlucky not to win. I think most people felt that Usyk won the fight, but Fury could have got a decision when it’s that tight,” said Eddie Hearn to Charlie Parson’s YouTube channel, talking about Tyson Fury’s comments about his needing a knockout of Oleksandr Usyk in their rematch on December 21st to have a chance of winning.
“I got clipped and that’s what happens when you have too much fun” @Tyson_Fury opens up about his loss the Oleksandr Usyk.
H/T FUROCITY By Tyson Fury#UsykFury2 | December 21 | #RiyadhSeason pic.twitter.com/zgmcemLccZ
— Boxing on TNT Sports (@boxingontnt) June 21, 2024
Fury told Furocity, “I think I won the fight. Usyk knows he didn’t beat me. I thought I boxed his head off for most of the rounds.”
Hearn Suggests Aggressive Approach for Fury
“I don’t agree with him at all that he needs to knock him out to win,” Hearn said about Fury. “I think if he wins the fight on points clearly, he’ll get the fight, he’ll get the decision. But I like the mentality. I think he needs to go in very aggressive in this next fight, I think he can win it.”
Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs) made no mention of the referee saving his backside in the ninth round when he swooped in like a savior to inexplicably give him a standing eight count when he was one punch away from being finished by Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs). Tyson had taken 20 consecutive shots from Usyk.
Many fans on social media felt that the referee favored Fury by giving him a standing eight count rather than letting Usyk finish keelhauling him.
