Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury Unify World Heavyweight Title Rematch Live on Saturday Sky Sports box office.
Their WBC, WBA and WBO championship clash on the bill in Riyadh will once again be a battle of technical skill and physicality, but the mental battle between them will be vital.
Fury usually has a psychological advantage over his opponents, but Usyk proved to be a match for him by winning a split decision in their first fight earlier this year.
Performance expert James A. King recounted Sky Sports“At first you have to make a lot of assumptions about your opponent in an elite sport and that’s a skill and an ability in itself.
“But once you’ve had the privilege of going into the ring with your opponent, you’ll get more data. I think then it becomes clear who can interpret it best.
“Then the psychology starts to overcome the technique. It’s no longer about getting better, it’s about delivering.”
It becomes about how they manage their own thinking.
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Roy Keane has joked that he prefers to predict his fight with Micah Richards before making his pick for the massive heavyweight showdown.
“Even elite fighters like Usyk and Fury are going to feel every emotion under the sun in that 12-week camp. Elite performances don’t exist without pressure. This is Usyk vs Usyk and Fury vs Fury – added King.
“So I’d say they both have the technical ability to win this fight. I think it comes down to who can keep it together in the head game and make the most of their abilities on fight night.”
Usyk and Fury are perfect foils for each other because of their stark contrasting personalities.
“Tyson Fury is just a fascinating person. He’s a showman. He’s funny,” King said.
“He’s unpredictable, he can see between the lines, he’s creative. One of the risks of that is you can be impulsive, and that’s something Usyk can potentially exploit.”
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Fury on whether beating Alexander Usyk would be the best comeback of his career
Meanwhile, Usyk is “completely the opposite”.
King explained. “He’s an introvert, he’s very balanced, he doesn’t shake either positively or negatively.
“You certainly wouldn’t describe him as a showman, he’s quite literal. When you ask him about his training, (he talks about) ‘regime’, he likes order, structure, discipline.”
Fury has a tendency to throw needles at previous opponents before a fight, so far, however, Usyk seems immune to his mind games.
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Johnny Nelson looks back at Usyk and Fury’s first meeting
“It’s important not to read too much into this level of press conferences. I don’t think it’s their first rodeo. I don’t think Fury seems to have wavered,” King said.
“He talked about what he did well, he talked about the reality, the split decision, the one point, he talked about how he didn’t focus as much as he could have.
“To me, it’s a sign that the guy has taken over, there’s humility. He might not have had a loss on his record before, but he’s certainly been criticized for his performances.
“He needs that adversity, that urgency and that pressure to bring out the best in him.”
Obviously, Usyk managed to perform at the highest level in the first fight.
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Watch a selection of the best boxing rematches featuring Ali-Frazier III, Barrera-Morales III and Pacquiao-Marquez IV.Coverage by Top Rank
“He’s been on the same journey to Fury as he’s dedicated his life to this sport, 300+ amateur fights, he’s traveled the world competing at the highest level. He wants to do himself justice , and he has that unblemished record at this point in his career, he’s not going to want to let that one slip,” King said.
“I think the obvious one is also this symbolic presentation of physical prowess to his countrymen who will look to him for some inspiration and morale.”
But that doesn’t mean Fury won’t be able to win a rematch.
“There’s an almost mythic twist to this fight. You have the two extreme ends of the psychological spectrum in terms of the modern warrior archetype,” King said.
“Fury represents this chaos, and on the other hand, you have Usyk and Usyk, almost this iconic representation of order. Stoic, he’s almost a robot.
“I think when chaos meets order, sometimes chaos has an edge.”
The epic heavyweight fight between Alexander Usyk and Tyson Fury will be live on Saturday, December 21. Sky Sports box office. Book Usyk v Fury 2 now!
