Fury Claims Usyk is Too Small to Beat Elite Heavyweights: But is He Right?
On May 18, we’ll get to see the first undisputed heavyweight clash in 25 years.
Tyson Fury, the WBC champion, will put his gold on the line against Oleksandr Usyk, the current WBA, WBO, IBO, and IBF strap-holder.
It’s common for there to be a war of words between the two fighters ahead of their bout in professional boxing these days. However, this time Fury has put aside foul-mouthed tirades and instead made a statement of fact, at least in his opinion: Usyk is simply too small to beat him.
The Ukrainian stands 6ft 3in – not small by any means, but he will be dwarfed inside the ring by the 6ft 9in Gypsy King.
So does Fury have a point? Or can smaller heavyweights still prevail?
Size Matters… Or Does It?
Those betting online are not necessarily convinced by Fury’s rhetoric. Bettors have backed Usyk into -125 favoritism, partly as a result of the Fury’s sluggish victory over MMA fighter Francis Ngannou last time out.
Pundits at Paddy Power News also have mixed views on how the fight will pan out, so there’s no consensus on how much size really matters in the sweet science.
A six-inch height difference is indeed unusual in boxing – the sort of thing exclusive to the heavyweight division, really, but that’s not to say that you need to be a giant to thrive among the sport’s biggest.
Muhammed Ali, considered by many to be the greatest heavyweight of all time, had the exact same physical credentials as Usyk – 6ft 3in in height, with a 198cm reach. He didn’t do so badly from being a ‘little’ guy, although there’s no record of him fighting a classy operator standing 6ft 9in tall, either.
Mike Tyson was positively puny in the heavyweight ranks – at 5ft 10in tall and with a 180cm reach, his physicality would have been more at home in the light-heavyweight division.
But Iron Mike was a muscular presence with ferocious punch power, and he beat several quality opponents that stood much taller than him – Larry Holmes, Frank Bruno, Michael Spinks, and Carl Williams amongst those felled by the KO king.
Punching Up
That being said, there are plenty of examples of tall heavyweights that have made their size count.
Wladimir Klitschko, standing 6ft 6in, was a master at using his height and reach advantage to pummel his opponents with ramrod jabs – softening them up for a knockout flurry later on in the contest.
And some readers may remember the 7ft giant Nikolai Valuev. He was, shall we say, limited in ability, and yet held a version of the heavyweight title for more than 18 months and again for the entirety of 2008, compiling a career record of 50 wins from 52 fights.
The two fighters that beat him? 6ft 3in David Haye and 6ft 1in Ruslan Chagaev.
It should be said that Fury is a far better fighter than Valuev ever was, and he is well-schooled in using his height and reach to bully opponents and control fights.
But Usyk has beaten bigger men – including the dangerous Anthony Joshua, twice – and Fury would be foolish to overlook the Ukrainian… in the metaphorical sense, at least, given that he has no choice but to overlook him physically!