Sky Sports Boxing Johnny Nelson believes Tyson Fury needs to make changes to his camp if he is to beat Oleksandr Usyk in their rematch – and even questioned whether Fury has the appetite for a rematch.
Fury appeared to receive mixed messages in his corner throughout his initial fight against Usyk, with his father John Fury, trainer Sugar Hill Steward and assistant Andy Lee all seen talking to him.
The 35-year-old lost by split decision and on Wednesday, a rematch between Fury and Usyk was confirmed for December 21 in Saudi Arabia…
Tyson Fury chose the wrong tactic. Will he have learned his lesson? If he did, I don’t think it would be the same result. We saw the success he had halfway through the fight.
My main concern until then is Tyson’s mental appetite for this rematch, knowing that Usyk got the better of him once.
Tyson is an incredible historian of our sport. For him to understand that, to have confidence in himself, it’s going to be very difficult for him.
If you have been at the top of the tree and you believe that you are the best in the world, no matter what, all of a sudden someone takes over you, it is very difficult to accept .
It’s very difficult to think: “I did everything right, I prepared well, I was in incredible condition” – the best condition we have seen in years. So what can you change?
Fury must overcome his mental scar
A lot of things need to be changed in the back room. We heard three voices yelling at him left, right and center in the corner, out of desperation I guess and misinterpreting the fight, thinking he was ahead.
For Tyson, he needs to have a serious conversation with his team. There has to be someone who has his ear, who he listens to and respects, who gives him that confidence by saying, “You can do this and you can turn the tide.”
Tyson is one of the best all-around fighters. He’s a good boxer, he’s a good fighter. But unfortunately, you can be too smart.
Tyson outsmarted himself to the point where he had to try to outbox Usyk, who was the better boxer. Not the best fighter, the best boxer.
Hopefully he learned from that lesson and thought, “I’m not doing this,” using the physical and using whatever got him to this point in the first place. I think the biggest mountain to climb is this mental scar he has left to deal with it.
Should Fury change teams?
You need organization. He has to get rid of the people who are there to say “yes, no, yes, no”.
He needs to develop further and that is part of the responsibility of being a champion.
I’m not in that camp, but from what I’ve seen and heard, that’s what he needs to respond to. If he doesn’t respond, it will be exactly the same.
He needs a leader, a leading voice, a voice he respects. If he doesn’t, trust me, it wouldn’t surprise me if the same thing happened again and it wouldn’t surprise me if he didn’t step into the ring on December 21st.
It will be very difficult for him to climb this mountain again, mentally. I understand the mentality of a fighter and for Tyson Fury, this is the first time he has tasted defeat in this way.
He checked all the boxes and did everything right, except for the team around him.
John Fury’s antics didn’t help Tyson
Unfortunately, we have a reputation as hooligans in the sports world. Having that kind of reputation and display, what does that say about us? What does this say about our sport? What does this say as athletes?
For me, I don’t think Tyson Fury needs that kind of distraction because I’m sure when the cameras went away he said to his dad, “What’s going on?”
It wasn’t something you just threw out and brushed away. If you see blood coming from your father’s head, you are going to worry about what happened. Then you will see the consequences.
I don’t care who he is. This would have affected the status quo one way or another during fight week. You don’t need it. Your main focus is on the guy you’re fighting and how well you get the job done, not on what happens in the week leading up to it. That’s the last thing you need.
Usyk should not change his strategy
His pace was key. That made it stand out. He weathered the storm. Fury was inconsistent with his work rate and this is where Usyk’s determination, belief and hard work paid off. For him, I would do exactly the same thing. Why are you trying to change anything?
Fury tried to outbox the best boxer. He didn’t try to beat him, but tried to outbox him and play him at his own game.
It’s quite clear, Usyk physically shouldn’t be able to beat Fury and he didn’t have to, he just sent him to his box and outplayed him.
