0
0
- Oleksandr Usyk came close to stopping Tyson Fury in ninth round of their clash
- But Lennox Lewis claimed that Fury had used the ring ropes to his advantage
Lennox Lewis has claimed Tyson Fury was ‘playing’ when Oleksandr Usyk came close to securing a stoppage with a barrage of punches ahead of the rematch between the pair.
For the first time since Lewis himself unified the division more than two decades prior, Fury and Usyk stepped into the ring in May to crown an undisputed king at heavyweight.
Throughout the early going on that night in Riyadh both fighters enjoyed their share of success, with Fury seemingly growing into the contest as it approached the middle rounds.
That all changed in the ninth however, as a bloodied Fury began taking an accumulation of punches from the Ukrainian.
Usyk landed a stiff left hand before pouring on the punishment, landing 14 unanswered punches in a row as his opponent rebounded off the ring ropes.
Fury was able to remain on his feet in the face of the onslaught, but referee Mark Nelson gave the British fighter a standing eight count, with the 10-8 round ultimately proving decisive when the fight went to the judges’ scorecards.
Lennox Lewis claimed Tyson Fury was ‘playing’ when Oleksandr Usyk appeared close to finishing him in their first fight
After a competitive opening, Usyk began to seize control of the fight after the middle rounds
Usyk looked to have Fury hurt in the ninth but Lennox insisted the Briton was using the ropes to his advantage
However, speaking ahead of the highly-anticipated rematch on December 21, Lewis insisted that Fury’s usage of the ropes was actually an example of deft ringcraft.
‘He got hit on the nose, and it made him to back on the ropes.’ Lewis told Fight Hub TV. ‘He was playing bouncing off the ropes because he was using the ropes to keep him up.
‘I thought the ref was great in that fight because some refs would have stopped it. That ref stayed focused, didn’t stop the fight, and allowed them to box.’
Asked recently how he plans to avenge his first career defeat as a professional, Fury claimed that he had ‘messed around’ too much throughout the twelve-round clash.
He said: ‘I’ll just throw more this time. Keep hitting him in the face more often than I did last time.
‘I’m just going to box smart, box clever and if I catch him, get him out of there. Pretty similar to what I did last time. A little bit less clowning around and a bit more focus and that’s it, really.
‘I did more clowning than anybody in any high-level fight’s ever done.
‘It’s taken my focus away as well, so maybe a little less clowning and more focus on the actual victory. I was messing around too much in there.’
HOW TO WATCH: Register and watch Usyk vs. Fury 2 on DAZN here: https://prf.hn/click/camref:1101l4cb3H
