Opinions and Observations: Usyk-Fury 2

Let's start at the end of the 10th round. On my card, I had Usyk and Fury tied. I thought that Fury had won both the 9th and 10th rounds, landing uppercuts with each hand and several clean jabs. The fight was on the table. Fury was on the ascendency and then...

By the halfway point of the 11th round, I wrote down a note that "Fury couldn't sustain his momentum and was now backing up again." I thought that Usyk won the 11th in a round where Fury didn't do too much. In the 12th they both landed some significant power punches, but I thought that Usyk's had more of an effect. In the end, I scored the fight for Oleksandr Usyk 115-113. The judges all had it for him 116-112. 

Usyk
Photo courtesy of Leigh Dawney/DAZN

In many ways Tyson Fury was better on Saturday than he was during their first fight in May. He spent no time lingering on the ropes. He fully respected Usyk and his punching power. He was able to make adjustments. The uppercuts in the 9th and 10th were among his best punches of the fight. His balance looked better. His hand speed was sharp. 

But in the most important way, on the judges' scorecards, Fury still was second best. The major difference between the two on Saturday was that Fury just couldn't sustain a consistent offensive attack. There were rounds, sequences and moments where he was the best in the ring, but those periods were not enough to put him over the top. 

At 36, Fury can no longer go pedal-to-the-metal for 12 rounds. Although Usyk is one year older, he has led a cleaner lifestyle. He's always in shape. And those small margins were enough in both fights. When reserves were needed, Usyk had a more abundant supply.

And Fury's choices on Saturday made this point crystal clear. Although many believed that Fury would take a page out of his rematch with Deontay Wilder and go hunting on the inside, fighting like the bigger man, that's not what he decided to do against Usyk. For most of Saturday's fight he was in midrange. It takes a lot of energy to track down an opponent, to rough him up and cuff him around. Fury did just this against Wilder in 2020. It was one of the signature performances of his career. 

However, four years later, not only wasn't he successful with this approach, he also didn't even try it. Maybe he was spooked by Usyk's abilities in the ring, or perhaps he just couldn't go to the well like that at this stage of his career. Either answer isn't good: a fear of his opponent's attributes or doubt regarding his own conditioning.

Fury after the fight
Photo courtesy of Leigh Dawney/DAZN

Still, Fury had his moments. He wasn't embarrassed. He stayed on his feet and put forth a solid effort. It probably would have been enough against many top heavyweights in the division, but not Usyk. 

It was a strange tale of two halves for Usyk. He spent most of the first half of the fight shooting straight lefts to the body. It was a wise strategy in theory, but it's arguable at how effective it was. Although he was consistent in his approach, his singular focus made him linger a little too much in the pocket, enabling Fury to connect with strong counters and lead shots during the first five rounds. Check out a counter left uppercut that Fury landed in the beginning of the fifth. I have no doubt that's one of the best shots Usyk has ever been hit with.

Usyk sacrificed elusiveness for a specific goal, to wear Fury down. And in truth, Fury did fade, but I'm not sure if Usyk's body shots were the real culprit for that eventuality. To my eyes, it was only when Usyk returned to the head with straight lefts in the sixth did he start to cause real damage. Those were the punches that made Fury keep his hands more at home, to come forward less. 

Usyk won four of the final six rounds of the fight. In the seventh, eighth and eleventh, Fury didn't make a strong case for himself. Spending more time trying to be defensively alert than by taking chances on offense, he ceded too much ground. Whereas Fury was once a backfoot master (check out his performance against Wlad Klitschko), against Usyk, whenever he was backing up, he was in trouble. In retreat, Fury lost control of the action. He wasn't leaving the pocket to spring traps or to box from a distance; no, it was for self-preservation. He needed to stay away from Usyk's left hands. 

***

Usyk's march through the heavyweight division has been unusual. He wins with brains more than brawn. His agility, stamina, self-belief and powers of recuperation are unmatched among his contemporaries. He has an excellent left hand, which can be quite versatile, but he's not winning fights too often with his other punches. They are nice additions when he uses them. I thought that his right hook helped him in the eighth and ninth rounds during the first Fury fight, but the punch wasn't a factor on Saturday. His jab is not really a power jab and he rarely commits to it over 12 rounds. I can't remember an uppercut that he threw against Fury in either fight. Like Deontay Wilder, Usyk has a very limited offensive arsenal, but he even lacks Wilder's power. However, Usyk's record of success speaks for itself. 

Usyk has a deeper understanding than almost everyone in the higher weights about what professional boxing is. And the most important part is "professional." Usyk's training has never let him down. In fact, His agility and stamina have led to so many second-half victories in his fights. In addition, he is psychologically ready to fight his fight for 12 rounds. The mental pressure he exerts on his opponents is often more than the physical pressure. He is always poking and prodding, trying to find a different angle, or using his feet or arms to get an opponent off guard. He doesn't take rounds off.

Let's also not forget the "boxing" part of the equation. Defeating Joshua, Dubois and Fury, he's aware that his opponents have been trying to take his head off with huge punches (perhaps less so with Fury), but what Usyk understands is that as long as he stays on his feet, it's just a 10-9 round if he loses. And most heavyweights aren't conditioned or even capable enough to outbox him to win a decision. They can't match him over the duration of a fight. Anthony Joshua doesn't want to box for 12 rounds. Neither does Dubois. The older Fury certainly hasn't wanted to either. 

Although this era has featured several fantastic heavyweight fights, the major players in the division (with the exception of Fury) have not been a collection of technically gifted fighters. It's been mostly an era of knockout artists. But interestingly, it has been the better boxers who have ascended to the top. And as good as Fury has been in displaying his technical skills, 24 rounds have proven that he isn't at the same level as Usyk; he's just a step below. 

What's even more unusual about Usyk's reign at heavyweight is that as an older fighter he has beaten top opponents without knockouts. This isn't George Foreman KO'ing someone in his mid 40s or Wlad Klitschko taking guys out at 39 and 40 with his straight right. Usyk is winning the hard way – with his feet, with timing, with endurance. He has been the best athlete in every one of his heavyweight fights. Again, this isn't the typical way an older heavyweight wins. 

But Usyk somehow has made it all work. A style built so much on athleticism and agility will soon have to run its course. Maybe Usyk has another two or three fights left at this level. But when the inevitability happens, either retirement or decline, let's not forget how special Usyk's unique brand of heavyweight boxing has been. It's been mostly one punch, pressure, dogged determination and psychological steel against guys with huge physical advantages and much more power. On paper it doesn't add up. But that's why they fight the fights. Something special might be revealed. And in this case, with Usyk, it truly has.  

Adam Abramowitz is the founder and head writer of saturdaynightboxing.com. 

He's a contributing writer for Ring Magazine, a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Panel, the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, and the Boxing Writers Association of America.

Email: saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com

snboxing on twitter. SN Boxing on Facebook 

Usyk-Fury 2: Preview and Prediction

The rematch for heavyweight supremacy between unified champion Oleksandr Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) and former lineal champ Tyson Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs) takes place on Saturday at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. When they met in May, Usyk scored a memorable ninth-round knockdown and won by split decision. Saturday's victor will no longer be regarded as "undisputed" at heavyweight (thank you, IBF), but the winner of the match will be the top dog in the division. 

In assessing the rematch, I have two factors that lead me to pick Usyk: 1. His stamina advantage. 2. A belief in his ability to get the job done, no matter the circumstances. But make no mistake, Usyk certainly lost rounds in their first fight and also got hit with dozens of hard shots in the middle rounds. Despite the win, his victory was anything but smooth sailing. 

The knockdown in the first fight changed the trajectory of the match, with Fury not only losing a 10-8 round in the ninth, but also needing several rounds to regroup. But even still, the judges were far from convinced by Usyk's performance. He wound up winning 114-113, 115-112 and 113-114. Although I and many others had Usyk ahead by more rounds, the officials around the ring were the ones who mattered. 

Usyk and Fury at the final presser
Photo courtesy of Leigh Dawney/DAZN

In the first fight there were two factors that surprised me. I didn't expect to see Usyk spend as much time as he did on the front foot. With Usyk's evasive abilities, I thought that he would hatch a more circumspect plan of attack. But there he was throughout large portions of the fight backing Fury up to the ropes and unloading with straight left hands. 

I also was surprised by how much success Fury had in the center of the ring. Using his reach and wisely sacrificing power for accuracy, Fury landed several thudding power punches against Usyk who is supposed to be very hard to find. Even with Fury taking some steam off his fastball, his punches were definitely hard enough to cause damage. 

For the rematch, Fury is going to have to defend Usyk's left hand better. Although Usyk, a southpaw, is overly reliant on his left-hand, it's not a single type of left that he throws. Yes, he can go straight down the pipe with it, but he can also sling it, throw it with a hitch or change to an overhand left. The secret to Usyk is his creativity with his left hand. He can lead with it, he can walk an opponent into it, he can counter with it, he can also change the angle. Where it's coming from is anyone's guess. 

Fury has a couple of options for defending the left hand. He can smother it, getting in close enough range where Usyk's left won't have the same impact. Fury can circle to his left which will make it challenging for Usyk to land the left repeatedly. He can also park himself on Usyk's right side and force Usyk to try to beat him with his right. 

All of this sounds simple enough but the challenge for Fury is getting in those winning positions and this is where Usyk's advantages in endurance and athleticism come into play. Usyk won't be compliant in allowing Fury to take away his left. He will move laterally and reset to find better angles to land it. He also will work for 12 rounds to find ways to score with his money punch. And the first fight showed that Fury doesn't have the same type of stamina at this point in his career to go 12 rounds on the offensive. He takes breaks. He leans on the ropes. He wants to fight in flurries and spurts; Usyk will continue to work. Although Usyk is not necessarily high-volume, he's determined. He will be as busy as he needs to be to win rounds. 

Fury does have another choice, one that is less tactical. He can start with bombs from the opening round. Maybe he can't outbox Usyk, but maybe he won't even try. He has the punching power and reach to hurt Usyk. The challenge will be for Fury to finish the job if he has Usyk hurt, to not let Usyk, who has tremendous recuperative powers, off the hook. Fury might not have the agility to put shots together late in the fight for a stoppage, but he certainly could earlier in the bout. 

Ultimately, I'm siding with Usyk's ability to survive the threatening moments, to find a way to regroup and to draw a line in the sand. I expect him to face duress in the fight. He will have to think his way through the fight and somehow clear his head when the going gets tough, but that's what he does. 

Throughout his career at cruiserweight and heavyweight, Usyk has always found a way. Every fight hasn't necessarily been clean or pretty. He had to gut it out against Hunter, Briedis, Bellew, Chisora, Joshua and Fury. He didn't dominate any of those fights in my opinion, but he found ways to win. He’s terrific in a fight's second half and especially in the championship rounds. If it's close, I believe that he will find that extra gear to take him over the edge. 

I respect Fury's ability in the ring. He will always pose problems for Usyk. His reach, combinations and offensive creativity will lead to periods of success against Usyk. He has the punching power to stop him and supreme boxing skills. But I don't think that he has the agility to defeat Usyk over 36 minutes nor do I believe that he can outwill Usyk. Fury himself has excellent recuperative powers, determination and self-belief, but Usyk is certainly his match in those categories. If Usyk is seriously hurt, I believe that he will find a way to survive. 

Usyk has reservoirs of intestinal fortitude that can change the trajectory of a fight, even when it's not going his way. He was getting cuffed around in their first fight in rounds five and six, but he found a way to turn the tide, as he has always done in difficult matchups. I'm expecting an entertaining battle with both fighters displaying their world-class abilities. But down the stretch I expect Usyk to separate himself in another close fight. 

Oleksandr Usyk defeats Tyson Fury by a competitive decision, let's call it 116-112. 

Adam Abramowitz is the founder and head writer of saturdaynightboxing.com. 

He's a contributing writer for Ring Magazine, a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Panel, the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, and the Boxing Writers Association of America.

Email: saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com

snboxing on twitter. SN Boxing on Facebook 

My IBHOF Ballot

The International Boxing Hall of Fame will announce the 2025 Hall of Fame class on Thursday. As a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America, I had the opportunity to vote for up to five fighters on the Modern Ballot. Below are the four fighters whom I selected. I'm sure that Pacquiao will be voted in without any problems. I'm less than confident that my other three picks will. But I believe that Pongsaklek Wongjongkam, Gilberto Roman and Santos Laciar are certain Hall of Famers. And if they do not make it this year, I hope that they get additional support in the future. If you are unfamiliar with any of them, I encourage you to research their considerable accomplishments in the sport. (For housekeeping purposes, the top-three candidates who receive the most votes will be picked.) 

My ballot

It was a privilege to be involved in the election process. So many fighters on the ballot made such vital contributions to the sport. And although I believe that there are cases to be made for others on the ballot whom I have not selected, I feel very confident that the four I picked deserve the honor of enshrinement.

Adam Abramowitz is the founder and head writer of saturdaynightboxing.com. 

He's a contributing writer for Ring Magazine, a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Panel, the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, and the Boxing Writers Association of America.

Email: saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com

snboxing on twitter. SN Boxing on Facebook 

Saturday Night at the Fights

Matchroom Boxing hosted an evening of pugilism in Philadelphia on Saturday that featured many of their top American boxers. Four were victorious and one would suffer his first defeat. There's a lot to dissect from these performances, so let's jump right in!

Boots vs. Karen

Jaron "Boots" Ennis fought a mandatory defense, and rematch, against Karen Chukhadzhian. The two first met in January 2023, which resulted in a one-sided unanimous decision win for Ennis. The most notable aspect of the fight was that Karen was able to take Boots the distance. In the interim, Karen had done very little to warrant becoming a mandatory challenger for Boots' welterweight title, yet here they were. Would the rematch be any different? 

Actually, it was. Karen was far more aggressive on Saturday, spending significant portions of the fight on his front foot. When they fought last year, Karen was happy to play it safe on the outside, but in the rematch, he was far feistier. 

Boots started off well and really focused on commanding the action with his jab. But as the rounds started to pile up, the same criticisms of Boots in past fights manifested: he sacrificed too much defense for offense, he was loading up on big shots for a knockout, and in a new twist, it looked as if the physicality of the fight was taking a bit of a toll on him (there was a lot of holding and grappling; Karen was deducted a point for holding). 

Boots did score a knockdown in the fifth from a barrage of power punches and he landed plenty of eye-catching shots throughout the fight. To my eyes, the fight was never in doubt for him, but Karen was far from intimidated. During several portions of the back-half of the fight, Karen connected with blistering right hands and left hooks. Although not a puncher, these were clean and impressive shots that exposed Boots' defensive shortcomings. Boots was so concerned with getting the knockout that he wasn't interested in defending what was coming back at him. As a result, he tasted a lot of leather. Boots did win a unanimous decision (119-108, 117-110 and 116-111), but it was far from a clean victory. 

Photo courtesy of Matchroom Boxing

As I've stated in a previous column about Boots, he might happen to have an incredible chin, so we can't say with certainly that he is a knockout waiting to happen. But at the very least, Karen won three and four rounds on two scorecards. That was not an accident of judges being overly generous. The point of boxing is to win, and Boots' porous defense is making it harder for him to be victorious. Boots remains an offensive dynamo, but there are two sides to the sport. 

Boots didn't seem thrilled by his performance in the aftermath of the fight. I think that now he realizes the margins are much thinner at the top levels of boxing. What worked stopping lesser fighters is no longer the same. This is a pivotal moment in his career. Does he want to be a fun action fighter or does he aspire to something more, like greatness? If it's the latter, then there's a lot of work to be done. 

Bam vs. Guevara

Every now and then, you see something so sublime in boxing that you have to check a replay to make sure that your eyes didn't deceive you. In the third round Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez trapped Pedro Guevara in a corner and then Guevara just folded to the canvas in an instant, and the fight was over. What was the shot that landed? What was so forceful? Did Bam slip in a quick uppercut? 

Photo courtesy of Matchroom Boxing

Ringside, a number of the media initially thought that it was a right uppercut that did the damage, which would have been impressive in that it wasn't Bam's dominant back hand, the left. But what actually happened was even more breathtaking. With Guevara right in front of him along the ropes, Bam shifted his weight and momentarily went orthodox to land the right uppercut from that position. It was the backhand, but it was now the right hand from the orthodox stance. In real time, this switch was practically imperceptible, but Bam was so effortless and fluid with his movement. It's another example of Bam having elite footwork in the pocket. 

Guevara was no mug. He had always gone the distance before. His losses had all been by split or majority decision. He has been a rugged contender. And here he was wiped out in the third round. This was next-level stuff by Bam, who was making a junior bantamweight title defense. And however seasoned Guevara might have been, he did not anticipate Bam's final uppercut, nor did he see it coming. He was outfought and outthought by a master boxer. It was thrilling stuff. 

Ford vs. Gonzalez

Raymond Ford made his junior lightweight debut on Saturday against a credible B-level fighter in Orlando Gonzalez. What amazed me about Ford's performance was how his style has morphed from his early years in the sport. During his development fights, he was a classic boxer who used his legs and hand speed. He was not a big puncher and if anything, he was accused of over-moving at times and not sitting down on his shots. 

But something changed with Ford over 2024. In March he was being outboxed by Otabek Kholmatov and Ford made a bold decision to take the fight on the inside. He wound up scoring a memorable 12th-round stoppage to win a world featherweight title. In June, he was being outworked by pressure fighter Nick Ball in the first half of their fight and yet it was Ford who became the pressure fighter in the second half. Although he dropped a razor-thin split decision in that fight, the newfound belief in his inside fighting and power was evident. 

On Saturday he fought Gonzalez as a walk-down power puncher. There was little of the lateral movement or fancy footwork from Ford's earlier career. Instead, Ford was coming in the front door all night behind bombs. He landed two picture-perfect knockdowns with right hooks in the second and eighth rounds. The lead hook in the eighth was so spectacular that I had to resist the urge to stand up and applaud. The knockdown was that sublime. That hook so damaged Gonzalez that he spent the rest of the fight running and holding. He was no longer interested in engaging. 

Photo courtesy of Matchroom Boxing

Ford wound up winning by a virtual shutout on the cards. I thought that his gas tank looked a little better than it had in previous fights. Although his effort may not have been full-throttle every round, he was still piling up points. More impressively, he looked very comfortable with his style, like he had finally found himself in the ring. He may not be a true one-punch knockout guy, but he has enough power and hand speed to trouble anyone at 130 lbs. 

Coe vs. Gallegos

If you ever want to watch a fight where it all goes wrong for a top prospect, you could start here. Khalil Coe was on the fast track at light heavyweight and entered Saturday's fight at 9-0-1 with seven knockouts. In his last three fights, he was a destroyer, ending each bout within two rounds. 

From the opening bell, Coe looked fresh. He had the power and speed advantage over Manuel Gallegos, who had not fought in over a year. In Gallegos' last fight, he was knocked out by Diego Pacheco in four rounds at super middleweight. All of this seemed to be set up to make Coe look good.

Coe was landing some hellacious shots early, but then a funny thing happened: Gallegos wouldn't go down. And then he kept firing back. Hitting Coe with crisp counter right hands and left hooks to the body, Gallegos seemed to be enjoying the slugfest. 

Instead of making adjustments, Coe doubled down on going to war. How was this guy still here? I will try even harder to stop him. But Gallegos kept pressing forward and dropped Coe with a left hook to the body in the fifth. Coe came up firing, which galvanized the crowd. Both exchanged huge shots, but it looked like Coe got the worst of it. 

By the sixth, Coe's legs didn't look like they once did. And Gallegos took control of the fight. A flurry of power punches dropped Coe in the seventh. Additional power punches dropped Coe in the eighth. And Coe was now a shell of himself. Nobody seemed interested in stopping the fight even though Coe was taking a vicious beating. A final left hook to the body dropped Coe in the ninth and the ref finally waved the fight off. 

This fight didn't have to play out the way it did. Although there was no guarantee that Coe would have won if he had chosen to box more and not go to war, he certainly would have had more of a chance. He had been a decorated amateur boxer after all. It wasn't always about power with him. But Coe wound up playing into Gallegos' hands. Coe was certain he would win a war of power punching. 

It was this belief, and a lack of respect for his opponent, that led to his demise. Coe could have tried to make Gallegos earn it the hard way, but there Coe was landing a huge shot and just staying right in the pocket, expecting Gonzalez to hit the canvas, and completely surprised when Gonzalez fired off a blazing counter. This pattern played out throughout the fight. Like Boots' performance, it was an example of a fighter who had developed bad habits. Coe believed too much in his power and not enough in what his opponent could do. He paid the price. 

Williams vs. Garrido

Austin "Ammo" Williams suffered a physically devastating defeat in his last fight against Hamzah Sheeraz, where he was dropped in the 10th and stopped in the 11th. For his comeback fight, he was matched up against little-known Gian Garrido, a fighter who had recently been knocked out in a six-rounder. This was supposed to be a get-well fight for Williams. But, if we are being honest, Ammo... didn't look too well. 

The ledger will show that Williams won Saturday's fight by fifth-round stoppage, and in truth, his power punching really came alive during that round. But prior to that, he looked listless. His legs were ponderous. He struggled to put punches together and at points Garrido was much quicker. At the end, Williams' sharper punching was the difference, but he looked far from a recent middleweight title challenger. 

Williams may need to take some time out of the ring to get back to his best. Saturday was not an issue of ring rust or inactivity. Sometimes a fighter just doesn't look right and I hope that his team was watching his performance closely. He needs a break. 

***

Overall, it was a terrific night at the fights, with much revealed about these boxers. From the frustrating to the sublime, there was so much to absorb, so much talent to watch of all varieties, so much intrigue. It was a wonderful night at the fights, and I was as happy as ever to experience it.

Adam Abramowitz is the founder and head writer of saturdaynightboxing.com. 

He's a contributing writer for Ring Magazine, a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Panel, the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, and the Boxing Writers Association of America.

Email: saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com

snboxing on twitter. SN Boxing on Facebook 

United Boxing Podcast

I appeared on this week's United Boxing Podcast with David Greisman and Darren Rees. We discussed this weekend's upcoming fights, including Boots, Bam, Keyshawn, and more. I've attached the Spotify link below, but it is available on most streaming services. 

Spotify link

Adam Abramowitz is the founder and head writer of saturdaynightboxing.com. 

He's a contributing writer for Ring Magazine, a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Panel, the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, and the Boxing Writers Association of America.

Email: saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com

snboxing on twitter. SN Boxing on Facebook