Tyson Fury told his approach to Oleksandr Usyk rematch is wrong
The two-time heavyweight world champion suffered the first loss of his professional career against the Ukrainian and is now out for revenge ahead of the sequel
Lennox Lewis has insisted that Tyson Fury needs to 'make some adjustments' ahead of his blockbuster rematch with Oleksandr Usyk later this year.
Following the first encounter earlier this year, many have called for the Brit to make a few changes to his team and have since criticised his dad, John, for his role in the corner in Riyadh back in May. Speaking to Paul Dempsey ahead of the release of the new boxing game, 'Undisputed,' earlier this month, Fury was asked how much time he's spending about the plan tactically for the second fight with Usyk.
"Not much time," he said. "I know what I've got to do, nothing drastic. People can say 'I want to change trainers or I'll blame it on me conditioning coach or I'll blame it on the cook or I'll blame it on the mouse next door.' Same team, same everything. I know what I've got to do".
He added: "I thought I won the fight last time. I give him, me boxing all my life and watching boxing me whole career, I give him rounds eight, nine and ten, and round nine was a 10-8. So that's what I give him out of the fight, but obviously the judges saw it a bit different, couple of them did. One of them had me winning. That's what it was. It was as close as it can be."
Fury and Usyk are scheduled to go head-to-head for a second time on December 21. In May, the Ukrainian became the first fighter to beat 'The Gypsy King' in a professional contest after the 37-year-old scored a split-decision victory. Following the win, Usyk became the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lewis back in 1999.
While 'The Gypsy King' has insisted that he will not be making any changes to his team and claimed that he will be changing nothing apart from the result, Lewis sent a warning to the Brit ahead of the rematch. In an interview with Boxing News, he said: “No, it’s not as simple as that. He does need to make some adjustments. If he didn’t make any adjustments, then he would lose the fight again. He definitely has to go in there with a focused attitude and being able to throw a lot more punches".
He added: "I don't think he wants to give too much away. I think we're going to get a different Tyson for this fight. I think he realises what he did wrong in the first fight".
In a recent sit down chat with Dev Sahni, Fury claimed that the Ukrainian was not the toughest opponent he's faced and admitted "he has no power". Despite his staggering admission, many fans will quickly highlight the fact that 'The Gypsy King' was nearly stopped in the ninth round against Usyk earlier this year.
When asked whether Usyk was the best he's faced, Fury responded: "Nowhere near. I think the fights with Wilder, when you bounced off the canvas two or three times and 10 knockdowns. And, at any given moment, he can be took out... is a lot more dangerous than having a boxing match with this guy (Usyk)".
He added: "He hurt me and he hit me in the temple, but he's got no power. He had his shots. I took his best shots and smiled. Like Tupac said, 'now he's about to feel the wrath of a menace'. Five shots couldn't drop me. I looked back at him and smiled. If I had been on disco legs like that against any other heavyweight, a big heavyweight, I would've been out cold. Man (Usyk) hit me with ten shots and didn't drop me. So, he's not a destructive puncher".