- Matchroom boss suggests Fury may be in decline
- Concerns over Fury’s current conditioning
- ‘Gypsy King’ bookies favourite ahead of undisputed clash
Eddie Hearn, the renowned boxing promoter, has raised eyebrows with his recent comments about heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, suggesting that Fury’s best days might be behind him. The ‘Gypsy King’ is the bookies favourite ahead of February’s undisputed clash with Oleksandr Usyk.
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Hearn highlights laboured performance against Ngannou as evidence of Fury decline
Hearn pointed to Fury’s lacklustre performance in the bout against Francis Ngannou, a former UFC heavyweight champion, where Fury reportedly secured a narrow points victory via split decision.
According to Hearn, Fury, who is 35 years old, appeared to struggle against Ngannou, who is a superb fighter with a great MMA record, but, is a relative newcomer to professional boxing. Hearn noted that Fury was dropped in the third round and seemed to be devoid of ideas during the Riyadh Rumble. Expressing concerns about Fury’s form, Hearn stated, “There are a lot of signs that he might be in decline after the Ngannou fight.”
Despite these reservations, Hearn believes that if Fury can return to his peak form, he will be too much for Usyk to handle in their upcoming unification fight scheduled for February. Hearn emphasised, “If he is back to his best, if he is firing on all cylinders, I do expect him to win that fight.”
Interestingly, Hearn’s current prediction contradicts his earlier assessment of a potential matchup between Usyk and Fury where he tipped the Ukrainian to win convincingly, even going as far as to label the potential bout as a mismatch, stating, “Usyk-Fury is a mismatch, no one wants to see it.”
Hearn’s concerns about Fury’s recent performances are echoed by Fury’s father, John, who expressed worries about Tyson’s physical condition. John Fury suggested that Tyson needs more time to work on his conditioning and weight, citing a perceived decline in strength and power over his last three fights.
“The 17th February is the date they have got to work towards,” said John Fury. “But in my opinion, Tyson needs a bit more time to get his conditioning right and his weight right.”
Betting Implications
Fury is the bookies favourite to win. Despite recent concerns over his form and conditioning and despite Usyk’s credentials as both a heavyweight and an allround boxer, most pundit’s believe the sheer size and strength of Fury will be the difference. At the time of writing, BoyleSports have Fury priced at 8/13, Usyk at 11/8 and a draw 16/1.
