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Tyson Fury’s coach, Andy Lee, said that his training camp preparation for his first fight against Oleksandr Usyk on May 18th was disrupted due to the recent cut he’d suffered, preventing him from sparring. There was worry that the healing cut would reopen if Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs) had sparred.
Lee reveals that Fury will spar for the December 21st rematch in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Of course, if Fury can’t spar again, the fans will hear about it afterward if he loses again.
Fans aren’t buying the lack of sparring bit as a believable excuse to explain away why he lost to Usyk last May. Fury was hurt by a left hook to the head in the ninth and was hit with an unanswered barrage of punches.
That initial shot that Fury was hurt with had nothing to do with his lack of sparring and more to do with his punch resistance not being up to par. If Lee was going to make an excuse for Fury, a better argument would be that his chin isn’t the same after his three battles against Deontay Wilder.
While Fury came through those fights without suffering a loss, he was knocked down four times in those three fights. Two knockdowns in the first fight with Deontay in 2018 and another two in their trilogy match in 2021.
The knockdown that Fury suffered in his first fight with Wilder was devastating. Fury was knocked unconscious in the 12th round and, unbelievably, given a count by the referee.
The cumulative damage that Fury suffered in his trilogy with Deontay may have played a part in him being hurt by Usyk in the ninth. It has nothing to do with Fury’s lack of sparring. That just sounds like Lee making excuses to try and explain away Fury’s loss.
“Tyson cruises up until round nine, and takes that punch. He shows unbelievable bravery and courage to get through it,” said coach Andy Lee to talkSport Boxing, discussing Tyson Fury’s loss to Oleksandr Usyk.
“He sees through the next couple of rounds and then almost wins the last round or two. I thought it could have been a draw. Fights are won and lost in the training and preparation. Because of the rearranged and rescheduled fight due to a cut, Tyson couldn’t spar in the camp,” said Lee.
Fury basically had two training camps for his fight against Usyk. So, there should have been more than enough time for him to prepare for the undisputed contest. It was one camp, but more like two due to the huge amount of time Fury had.
“The conditioning, sharpness and your ability to concentrate to stay ready and to sustain attacks,” said Lee on what Fury lost out on by not sparring. When Tyson would have success in the fight, he would have to back away and look to rest to build up his energy again before mounting his next attack.
“In the meantime, it encouraged Usyk to come forward and gave him the emphasis to go forward to take it now because ‘I’m taking a break.’ It’ll be different because he’ll be able to spar,” said Lee on how the training camp will be different this time for the rematch with Usyk.
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