Peter Fury believes Oleksandr Usyk would have been stopped by Rico Verhoeven if he had not taken the crossover title fight seriously.
Verhoeven pushed Usyk hard in Giza before the Ukrainian champion turned the fight around with a sharp right uppercut in the 11th round. Fury said Usyk’s added weight and conditioning mattered because Verhoeven’s pressure was real. “If Usyk hadn’t took this fight serious, he’d have got himself stopped,” Fury said. “If he hadn’t been superfit, Usyk, he wouldn’t have withstood that pace.”
Fury still believes referee Mark Lyson made the wrong call by stopping the fight with only one second left in the round, but he does not think it was deliberate. Lyson later told Fury he never heard the bell, and Fury accepted that explanation while still saying Verhoeven should have been allowed back to the corner. “It wasn’t one-way traffic, he wasn’t taking a beating, the round was ended,” Fury said. “So he should let him go back to the corner.”
Despite the frustration, Fury refused to take credit away from Usyk. He praised the uppercut that changed the fight and admitted the ending only became controversial because Usyk produced a brilliant shot at the right time. “He landed a fabulous uppercut in the 11th, he turned the fight around and he got the victory,” Fury said.
Fury also defended Verhoeven over suggestions that he may have tried to buy time when his mouthpiece came out. “My man is an honorable fighting man,” Fury said. “He’s not going to spit no gumshield out to gain time.” He added that Verhoeven’s concentration slipped for a moment when he chose to attack, and Usyk punished him for it.
Verhoeven is expected to continue boxing rather than return to kickboxing, with Fury saying he is “not a one-hit wonder” and deserves to be viewed as a serious heavyweight. Fury believes Verhoeven can fight again around September or October, and he ended with respect for both men: “Usyk won. They had a terrific fight. Massive congratulations to Usyk. Massive congratulations to my guy.”
Image Credit: BBC