Eddie Hearn says that Tyson Fury's "punch resistance" is gone before his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk - “You’ve been dropped”
Tyson Fury suffered the first defeat of his career against Oleksandr Usyk when the pair clashed on May 18 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. After a competitive 12-round fight, the Ukrainian was awarded a split-decision victory to become the undisputed heavyweight world champion.
After dominating much of the first six rounds, Fury began getting caught with some powerful punches from Usyk that saw the momentum of the fight shift. 'The Cat' landed a massive overhand left in Round 9 that almost knocked the former WBC champion out cold, as he wobbled around the ring with the end looking to be near.
But the Brit managed to survive the onslaught, and recovered superbly to continue fighting in the remaining three rounds.
After tasting defeat for the first time in his career, it was confirmed that 'The Gypsy King' had activated the rematch clause in his contract.
Ahead of the potential rematch, boxing promoter Eddie Hearn has shared his thoughts on suggestions that the punch resistance of the former champion has disappeared. He said this:
"I don't think it's left him. But I don't think it might be what it once was. I think that happens a lot when you've been in tough fights and you've been dropped. You're getting a little bit older as well. But they're heavyweights, you know. Until that moment, it was the shot in the eighth-round that bloodied [Fury's] nose. But it was really the ninth [round] where he was gone."
Watch Eddie Hearn discuss Tyson Fury's punch resistance below from 4:15:
Eddie Hearn predicts Tyson Fury to face some tough mental hurdles after first defeat
Tyson Fury is no longer undefeated, a result that may negatively affect him for several months, according to Eddie Hearn.
'The Gypsy King' was handed a split-decision defeat against Oleksandr Usyk in the main event of the Ring of Fire card held in Saudi Arabia.
The former champion was confident in his post-fight speech that he should have been awarded the victory, but credited his opponent for his performance on the night.
During a recent interview with iFL TV, Hearn reflected on the Brit's first defeat, saying this:
"Fury will really struggle to deal with this. He's a winner, and he's never lost before. It's the first defeat of his career, and he's a happy go lucky guy. And he'll give it the big one. But deep down, there'll be dark times and there will be dark nights."
Watch Eddie Hearn's comments on Tyson Fury below from 10:50: