Tyson Fury ‘learned a hard lesson’ from his defeat by Oleksandr Usyk but now knows how to beat the Ukrainian, claims the Gypsy King’s co-promoter Todd DuBoef
- Oleksandr Usyk defeated Tyson Fury to become undisputed world champion in May
- Todd DuBoef says Gypsy King made up Ukrainian ahead of their rematch
Tyson Fury has learned a ‘hard lesson’ after his defeat to Oleksandr Usyk and is ready for revenge, his co-promoter claims.
Usyk became the first undisputed world champion of the four-belt era in May, stripping Fury of his WBC title and cementing his name in the history books as one of boxing’s all-time greats.
Fury had the upper hand midway through the fight after a pair of closely contested opening rounds, but Usyk staged a formidable comeback in the latter stages to dramatically claim a 10-8 lead in round nine by landing a flurry of punches on the Gypsy King as he stumbled against the ropes.
The pair will fight again in Riyadh on December 21 and Top Rank’s DuBoef says Fury now knows how to beat the Ukrainian.
Looking back on the first fight, he said Air sports: ‘In those middle rounds it felt like he was just closing in on him and I think he just got a little lax and overconfident.
Oleksandr Usyk defeated Tyson Fury to become the undisputed world champion in May
Todd DuBoef says the Gypsy King engineered the Ukrainian rematch in December
“I think he learned a lesson and it was a hard lesson. But I also believe that things will go better for the other guy this time because he has more self-confidence.
“I think his personality is like him [Fury] standing in the ring is just his character. But I don’t think he’ll take things for granted and I think he’s learned a hard lesson.”
DuBoef added that Fury will beat Usyk “if he stays focused.” When he doesn’t play.
Meanwhile, Queensbury chief Frank Warren, who is also Fury’s co-promoter, says the Brit will know what to do in the rematch after a ‘close’ first fight.
‘He’s quite philosophical. He felt he had won the fight. I thought he just stole it, but it was a close fight. It could have gone either way, a lot of neutral people like Thomas Hauser, people who didn’t have an ax to grind thought it was a draw, one round [in it]and it was a shared decision,” Warren said.
“He has to go out and continue what he did in the first half of the fight.
Queensbury chief Frank Warren (right) says Fury knows what to do in the rematch
‘I thought he was really going to stop [Usyk]. That great shot, you could see it, he staggered back. He is game and did what he had to do.
“I just feel like Tyson is a smart guy, he knows what to do.”