Spencer Oliver: “If I’m Tyson Fury, I’m not going into the rematch now. I’m fighting Anthony Joshua at Wembley Stadium first”
Fury still has what it takes to avenge Usyk loss, adds former boxer
Former European champion boxer Spencer Oliver has told talkSPORT BET that Tyson Fury should make Anthony Joshua his next opponent before then taking on Oleksandr Usyk in a rematch if he comes through the all-British fight.
Fury lost a split decision to Usyk in Saturday’s heavyweight unification fight in Saudi Arabia. With a rematch clause said to set up a second fight in October, Oliver would instead like the Gypsy King to confirm a long-anticipated clash with Joshua first.
“If I’m Tyson Fury, I’m not going into the rematch now,” Oliver said. “I’m fighting Anthony Joshua at Wembley Stadium first.
“There are two fights left in Fury. That’s the Oleksandr Usyk rematch and then the Joshua fight is always going to be a massive fight for the British public. Everyone has always wanted to see it.
“That’s a fight that still sells, hugely. If you’re looking at it from a business point of view, that’s probably a bigger fight.
“They’ve both been beaten by Usyk. The winner of Joshua versus Fury then boxes Oleksandr again.
“But Fury will want to right the wrongs. So I see him probably going into that rematch first to secure his legacy, but he has other options.”
Saturday’s fight was on a knife edge heading into the ninth round before Usyk knocked down ‘The Gypsy King’ and went on to dominate the rest of the contest. And Oliver believes Tyson’s much publicised life outside of the ring is catching up with him.
Oliver said: “Oleksandr Usyk is the ultimate professional. He’s clean, he drinks water.
“Tyson Fury has had a chequered past. He’s had his issues outside of the ring. He doesn’t eat particularly well, he drinks alcohol. That catches up with a fighter at this stage of his career. There’s always going to be a question mark over Fury and maybe that is showing now in his performances. Maybe the punch resistance is going a little bit.
“I think he’s got it in him. There’s a lot to come from Fury but Usyk showed that he’s a great fighter.”
Despite the Usyk defeat following an unconvincing performance in the victory over ex-UFC champion Francis Ngannou last year, Oliver still thinks the Brit can avenge the loss.
He added: “Tyson approached the fight wrong. Now he has to approach it differently, he has to be the aggressor.
“Fury can definitely win the rematch. It was a very competitive fight. Usyk ran out the winner for me but Fury had his moments, big moments and he is a great fighter.
“He can turn it around but he will be a big underdog because Usyk now will have that added confidence.
“Usyk is great at working fighters out. His boxing IQ is insane and that’s going to be a big problem for Fury. Usyk will go down as an all-time great, definitely.”