'My heart says Fury, my head says Usyk'… Eddie Hearn details why he's torn on enormous heavyweight rematch
12/19/2024 07:41 AM
The biggest heavyweight rematch of the decade is now only a matter of days away, with Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk preparing to lock horns for a second time on December 21.
The global combat sports community is torn on who they think will exit the Kingdom Arena as the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world – and that includes Matchroom boss, Eddie Hearn.
Eddie Hearn predicts Tyson Fury will beat Oleksandr Usyk – but only barely
Less than 72 hours away from Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk 2, countless boxing experts both past and present are still undecided on who they think will win – although there's an argument that the biggest winner will be the fans themselves.
"My first thoughts [as a fan] are that I don't know how you can pick against Oleksandr Usyk," stated Matchroom boss Eddie Hearn to TNT Sports Boxing earlier today.
"He is an unbelievable downloader of data but instantly; not 'will go away for a few months, watch tape to understand', he does it on the spot – and that's why he's so good… The ability to just change, switch tactics, [and] when he has more time, it becomes even more dangerous."
Tyson Fury remains a slight underdog to the undefeated Ukrainian, with Hearn revealing that he's been changing his prediction multiple times throughout fight week.
"I keep saying this, my heart says Tyson Fury, [but] my head says Oleksandr Usyk… Usyk seems to have this, for once, strange aura and speak of confidence and borderline – not arrogance – but I've never heard him talk about how good he is.
"Fury looks calm, he looks fit, and I'm changing my mind – I'm going to go with Tyson Fury. This fight is about extraordinary things, [and] every now and again, Fury is capable of the most remarkable things. He has the ability, on the night, to win this fight."
Fury's training camp has been called into question, with his wife confirming the story that she's not spoken to 'The Gypsy King' for the past three months as he prepares for the Riyadh season rematch.
"What did that last fight take out of them, and who did it take more out of?" questioned Hearn, before dismissing any notion that training camp changes will impact the outcome on Saturday night.
"This fight has got nothing to do with training camp, in the respect of how did they look or who did what, this is just on the night… And I'm going to switch it and go Tyson Fury.
"I've just got a funny feeling that he's going to do it, it's going to be close, it might be controversial, but unless somebody gets stopped – which I don't see [happening] – I think it's a 7-5 kind of fight. And when that happens, anything can happen."
Fury's path to victory could have been proven viable by Artur Beterbiev
Oleksandr Usyk might be undefeated as a professional, but the Ukrainian did suffer 15 losses as an amateur – including to Shawn 'Showtime' Porter and to reigning light heavyweight champion, Artur Beterbiev.
Usyk and Beterbiev locked horns on three occasions, with 'The Cat' winning that rivalry 2-1; however, it was their 2011 clash at the World Amateur Championships that we'd like to point out.
During the third round of that particular fight, Beterbiev was able to angle off and land a beautiful right body shot that badly dropped Usyk.
As revealed in various fan compilations of Usyk's career, that wasn't the first time that 'The Cat' was either hurt or dropped due to a body shot – a potential path to victory for Tyson Fury?
Find out on December 21.
