Shannon Briggs believes Tyson Fury has what it takes to avenge his loss to Alexander Usyk, but it’s “how he feels” on Saturday night.
Fury, 36, and Usyk rematched at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – seven months after Usyk threatened to stop him in the ninth round before winning the undisputed heavyweight title via split decision King title.
They will fight for the WBA, WBO and WBC titles on Saturday, when Fury will fight as an underdog for the first time.
The entertaining nature of the first fight means the 37-year-old Usyk is more likely to win again than the retired Briggs – who lost to Usyk’s fellow Ukrainian Vitali in a world heavyweight title fight Klitschko vs. Fury’s fellow Brit Lennox Lewis – Believes Usyk, the best heavyweight ever, can still see Fury win.
“We’ve never seen Tyson Fury lose before and he was undefeated leading up to his first fight with Usyk,” said the 53-year-old, who represents Brownsville Boxing Gym and the academy spoke. “So now, we don’t know what kind of fury we’re going to see on Saturday. But one thing is for sure – Fury is going to face one hell of a man.
“In the first fight, Fury looked sharp early on, but that’s Usyk for you – he’s a machine! Usyk doesn’t stop. Who’s in better shape than him? Me I don’t think any heavyweight in history is in better shape than Usyk.
“But it’s a pick-them fight. You can’t just say Usyk is a lock and you can’t count Fury out. God no! We don’t know which Fury we’re going to get.
“This guy can box, he can move forward, he can dance around the ring. Fury can do whatever he wants to do to win. He can go southpaw, he can go orthodox – it doesn’t matter . Who else in history can do that? No one can do that like Fury.”
A second defeat would end hopes of a third fight with Usyk and potentially a belated showdown with Anthony Joshua, but Briggs said: “If Tyson Fury wins on Saturday Losing the fight tonight, as long as he’s not injured, it’s not a big deal. He can take some time off, relax and come back stronger. That’s the business we’re in! Look at Mike Tyson, he’s 58 years old. Still stepping into the ring! It would be foolish for Fury to retire if he loses.
“Nowadays, we have doctors, rehab, and all kinds of advancements. If you’re not seriously injured, why would you stop fighting? I’ll tell you this: If they said to Mike Tyson when he was 68, ‘Hey, we With $200 million for you, you better believe Mike is going to grab a cane and get back in the ring!”
