The 34-year-old heavyweight has been absent from the ring since his controversial trilogy fight against Derek Chisora in December. Initially, Fury was set to take on fellow champion Usyk in an eagerly anticipated undisputed clash in April but the fight fell through due to disagreements over the rematch clause in the contracts.
While Fury has been teasing a significant announcement in recent weeks, he has yet to finalise an opponent. It is expected that he will have a fight in late summer before eventually squaring off against Usyk in Saudi Arabia later this year.
Nevertheless, British boxing legend Carl Froch believes that Fury could be heading for failure if he isn’t fully committed to training at present. Froch expressed his concerns in an appearance on talkSPORT, saying: “If he gets too out of shape and remains out of the ring for too long, there comes a point of no return where he could find himself in a tough fight against an average opponent.
“I believe Fury would have the physical advantage over Usyk, but he needs to be in top form, 100 per cent focused, and prepared for 12 rounds.”
Highlighting the potential challenges Fury might face, Froch explained: “He has to be fit for 12 rounds because if Usyk decides to maintain distance, box smartly, and avoid engaging too much, constantly targeting Fury’s body, arms, and chest, and only striking when within range, it could spell a 12-round disaster for Tyson Fury. I’m not entirely convinced he would go straight in against Usyk, and that might be why he priced himself out of the fight.”
Meanwhile, Usyk has a scheduled bout against mandatory WBA challenger Daniel Dubois on August 26. Additionally, the Ukrainian boxer recently signed with Saudi Arabian promotion Skills Challenge, hoping to bring him closer to a showdown with The Gypsy King.
Froch raised doubts about Fury’s seriousness regarding the undisputed fight with a deal not yet struck. “He’s talking a big game right now, hyping up all these fights, but nothing is materialising,” said the former super-middleweight world champion.
“How committed is he to fighting Oleksandr Usyk? Fury is making a lot of noise, but there’s been no official agreement. It’s becoming increasingly frustrating and annoying to listen to Tyson Fury because we all want to see him fight. I’m not so sure now how serious he truly is about stepping into the ring.”
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