Carl Froch sensationally lays into Tyson Fury’s CV
On the cusp of the biggest fight of his career against Oleksandr Usyk, Tyson Fury has come under fire from an unexpected source.
Carl Froch, the super-middleweight great, has sensationally laid into Fury, questioning ‘what’s he ever done, who’s he actually beaten?’ in an explosive rant ahead of the Gypsy King’s heavyweight clash with Ukrainian Usyk.
Fury could become the first undisputed British heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis 25 years ago, but evidently that’s not enough of an accomplishment for ‘The Cobra’.
Making his professional debut what feels like a lifetime ago in 2008, Fury’s ascent to undisputed status has been almost two decades in the making.
As for Usyk, he’s already tasted life as an undisputed champion in the cruiserweight division – he’ll be looking to join a very select band of fighters to have claimed all the gold in the top two weight categories.
The latest boxing betting odds on Tyson Fury v Oleksandr Usyk make the Gypsy King an 8/11 favourite, although the Ukrainian’s price of 11/10 is hardly indicative of a hopeless outsider – the bookmakers are giving him a real chance of upsetting the applecart in Riyadh.
Froch, meanwhile, has pointed to the form of two of Fury’s previous opponents – Deontay Wilder and Otto Wallin – as evidence that the Englishman’s record is perhaps not as blemish-free as it appears.
Fury struggled to get rid of Wallin in their 2019 contest, albeit winning by a handsome points decision. But the Swede was blasted out in five rounds by Anthony Joshua, who of course lost twice – and comprehensively so – to Usyk.
And then there’s Wilder, the fighter who has arguably come the closest to ending Fury’s unbeaten streak when dumping the Gypsy King on the canvas more than once in their trilogy. He has since been dismantled by Joseph Parker, a talented heavyweight but another easily despatched by Joshua.
“Is Tyson Fury actually what we thought he was, or has he been flattered by the lack of opposition? We don’t know, but we’ll find out when he fights Usyk,” Froch told LuckyBlock directly.
“After the Klitschko fight, Fury had those three big standout fights with Deontay Wilder. But how good is Deontay Wilder now? He looked awful against Joseph Parker. So now you start questioning him.”
He’ll be watching on as eagerly as the rest of us to see how the Gypsy King fares against the best technical boxer he has faced so far.
Nine-Year Itch
Even though he started out his professional career as a cruiserweight in 2013, Usyk has admitted he’s only ever had one ambition in boxing – getting revenge on behalf of his countryman, Wladimir Klitschko, in the heavyweight division.
Fury famously went to the Ukrainian’s adopted boxing homeland of Germany in 2015 and separated the champion from his collection of heavyweight belts – effectively ending Klitschko’s career as a top-level fighter.
It was a defeat that Usyk took as harshly as the vanquished champion. And he has confirmed that he’s been plotting Fury’s downfall ever since – despite the nine years that have passed.
The Ukrainian has long been ‘preparing’ for heavyweight fights against Fury and Joshua – the latter also dismantling Klitschko in his final bout before hanging up his gloves.
With that long to plot Fury’s downfall, Usyk will be well-scouted against the Gypsy King if nothing else.
Fury-Usyk takes place on February 17, live on DAZN, Sky Sports and TNT Sports.