Usyk to fight Dubois, but Fury is on his mind
By Norm Frauenheim –
Oleksandr Usyk is going into a fight against Daniel Dubois while talking about Tyson Fury.
If that sounds confusing, it is.
Then again, this is the heavyweight division, often as exasperating as it is entertaining.
“I need him,’’ Usyk (20-0, 13 KOs) said of Fury in an interview with the BBC just a week before risking his heavyweight titles against Dubois (19-1, 18 KOs) Saturday (ESPN+, 5 pm ET/2 pm PT) in Wroclaw Poland, not far from Usyk’s war-torn home in the Ukraine.
Usyk is right, of course. No showdown with Fury leaves Usyk with an incomplete resume. At 36, there’s not much time left for Usyk to punctuate his career with the fight that could define a legacy. He wants to be remembered.
“People will talk about our fight for 20, 30, 40 years,’’ he said. “We need to fight.’’
The division, boxing’s old flagship, needs them to fight, too. But the inability to put together a deal is a many-layered sign that the unpredictable Fury just isn’t interested. He’s been there before. He came roaring back with a memorable trilogy against Deontay Wilder. The third fight was wild, a violent five-knockdown epic a couple of years ago.
Then, it was a celebration of what the heavyweight division was.
And still can be.
The inherent power was there. So, too, was the danger, the risk to both Fury, the winner, and to Wilder, the loser left on the canvas in an exhausted, broken heap midway through the eleventh. Loser and winner, each paid in ways still impossible to imagine.
Since then, Wilder has fought once, scoring a quick KO of Robert Helenius Now, he says he’s in talks with Anthony Joshua, who seems to be in a perpetual search to re-discover the guy who retired Wladimir Klitschko in April 2017.
Fury has fought twice, first scoring a sixth-round stoppage of Dillian Whyte and then a 10th-round TKO of Derek Chisora. Both were as predictable as they were forgettable.
Now, Fury, still the World Boxing Council’s champion, has an off-beat bout scheduled with MMA power striker Francis Ngannou on October 28 in Saudi Arabia. Ngannou will have Mike Tyson in his corner. But none of Evander Holyfield’s skill will be there.
For Fury, it’s another chance at some sports-wash money. It’s also a way to avoid another bout that would likely include a further toll, a physical price hard to calculate. Fury has said he suffered a couple of concussions against Wilder. Fury, of course, says a lot of things. He’s a lousy-lounge act. But the concussions are believable. Fury-Wilder 3 was a concussive fight for both.
Usyk, the best cruiserweight champion ever, is an undersized heavyweight, especially by today’s NBA-like standards. But his skillset is comprehensive and disciplined. The mindset is a mix, both fearless and clever. Combine skill and mind, and Usyk represents a real test of what’s left of Fury.
It’s not clear Fury wants to take that kind of risk anymore. He’s talked retirement. He even insisted that he was retired in 2022. That lasted for a few weeks. It was funny, but it also suggests he’s not sure whether he still wants to fight.
In part, that might explain why Usyk and Fury couldn’t agree to a 50-50 purse split for a fight in London. Usyk has three of the belts; Fury has one. Fifty-fifty sounds fair. But Fury reportedly demanded the lion’s share. When he didn’t get it, he cracked jokes, insults and then scheduled one of those awkward MMA-boxer bouts for money big enough to be a Phil Mickelson wager.
Usyk promoter Alexander Krassyuk told Boxing Social he will continue to pursue a fight with Fury. That, of course, hinges on an expected Usyk victory over Dubois. Usyk was at 220.9 pounds and Dubois at 233.2 at Friday’s weigh-in.
Krassyuk is confident the money will be there, probably in Saudi Arabia. But Fury’s willingness to risk belts, body and brain once more?
“That’s the only thing pending,’’ Krassyuk said. “If he’s ready, then he’s ready.
“If he’s not, then there’s nothing we can do about it and no money in the world can buy his consent.”