Tyson Fury has never been hit so frequently as he was by Oleksandr Usyk – and punch stats show he is facing a daunting task to gain revenge in the rematch.
Fury’s perfect record and WBC title reign were ended by Usyk in their first fight in May as the Brit was badly hurt and beaten on points by the Ukrainian in their undisputed world heavyweight title showdown in Saudi Arabia.
Using Compubox stats, we delve into how Fury approached his bout against Usyk and examine his rematch with Wilder for clues as to how he must adapt.
When Fury lost a split decision to Usyk, stats reveal the Brit was outpunched for the first time since his punch stats were published in late 2018 – with Usyk landing 170 punches, compared to Fury’s 157.
Additionally, Usyk and Otto Wallin are the only fighters on record to register higher punch accuracies than Fury during a fight against him.
The chart below plots how many punches both fighters landed by round in May and shows how they were evenly matched until Fury became more dominant in the fifth and sixth – before Usyk raised the intensity and Fury dropped off, culminating in a ninth-round standing count for Fury, just before the bell.
The chart below shows how many accurate ‘power punches’ Fury landed by round – defined by Compubox as any punch that is not a jab, including hooks, crosses, uppercuts and body shots – compared with his career average.
The results suggest Usyk’s growing intensity during the fight was bolstered by Fury exceeding his typical exertions in the earlier rounds before losing steam and underperforming his average punch power in the latter rounds.
pivotal, latter rounds – peaking in the ninth, when the bell saved Fury.
Asked for his verdict on the rematch, Iron Mike told Fox Sports Radio: “Tyson Fury could have won that fight if he wasn’t playing around early in the fight.”
Fury added: “He beat me fair and square, give the man his props. I don’t understand why people have got an excuse like, ‘I lost the fight because I didn’t train great’. Or, ‘I lost the fight because the chef didn’t cook me the right foods’.
Following his defeat earlier this year, many boxing legends, including Ricky Hatton, have called for Tyson to remove his father John from his corner ahead of next weekend’s showdown. With a little over a week to go until the two heavyweight giants go glove-to-glove again, Crolla has weighed in on the corner debate in the first meeting – labelling it a ‘shambles.’
“When it’s time for Tyson to sit down in the corner, it might be time for one clear voice, and I believe that’s how it should be. I think Tyson will win the rematch, and I have always said I believe he is the best heavyweight in the world.”
