Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk are getting ready for their rematch later this year. It's one of the biggest fights on the calendar, and former world champion Shannon Briggs has shared his thoughts on it.
The two heavyweights first faced off in May. Usyk won by split decision and took all the heavyweight belts. The fight had its dramatic moments, with Usyk's left hand in round nine sending Fury spinning around the ropes and taking a 10 count.
Briggs, speaking to YouTube, raised an interesting question about Fury's mindset going into the rematch:
"He never lost before. This is his first loss. You know, I had my personal feelings, me as a fighter, when I think about the wealth that these guys have made and they're still able to go it's like, wow. Sometimes I wonder is this guy still hungry? That's my question mark for him, if he's still hungry."
Briggs pointed out that Fury's unpredictable style makes him hard to count out. He said:
"Styles make fights but again you can never count Fury out, you don't know if he's going to come out right-handed or left-handed. You don't know if he's going to mug him like he did with Wilder in the third fight or if he's going to box."
The former champ suggested Fury might change his approach for the rematch:
"Maybe he goes back and says I fought that fight wrong. I was curious why he didn't use his legs more [against Usyk], walking him down. He was going to the ropes a lot, maybe he makes adjustments, says in this fight I'm going to mug him, lay on him and outwear him. Can Usyk's conditioning take it? Tyson might switch up and say he was too light, in this fight I might go in big as a can. You can never tell with Fury."
Fury has several options for his strategy. He could switch between right-handed and left-handed stances, try to outbox Usyk, or use his size advantage to wear down the smaller man. The big question is whether Usyk's conditioning can handle whatever Fury throws at him.
The winner of this rematch could face Daniel Dubois next. Dubois recently beat Anthony Joshua by fifth-round stoppage to retain his IBF title, setting up another potential undisputed fight down the line.
