Tyson Fury fears dismissed vs Oleksandr Usyk after 'worst performance as champion'

Frank Warren is not worried about Tyson Fury repeating his performance from the Francis Ngannou fight against Oleksandr Usyk. Fury scored a split-decision victory over the former UFC heavyweight champion last and controversially won the shockingly close fight.

Fury, 35, was knocked down in the third round following a left hook from Ngannou but ultimately won 96-93, 94-95 and 95-94 on the judges' scorecards. The WBC champion kept his unbeaten record despite looking closer to losing it than at any point since his second fight with Deontay Wilder.

However, Usyk was somewhat fortunate to avoid defeat in his last outing against Daniel Dubois. The unified heavyweight champion dropped to the canvas in the fifth round of the fight, but the punch was contentiously called a low blow.

Usyk won via knockout four rounds later, and Dubois felt cheated out of victory afterwards. With both boxers showing vulnerabilities last year, Fury's co-promoter Warren warns against reading into his fighter's display.

"[Tyson] got clipped in the [Ngannou] fight, but he did what a champion does, and that is to get back into the fight," Warren told Sky Sports. "He's got a good chin, recovers, and won the fight.

"I wouldn't look too much into that Ngannou fight. With Tyson, that's probably his worst performance as a champion against Ngannou. You look at all his other performances, and he's raised his game."

Warren also explained how Fury has altered his approach since becoming a world champion in November 2015. "Years ago, when he fought [Wladimir] Klitschko, it was pure boxing. He went out there and gave him a boxing lesson in his adopted backyard in Germany.

"You look, since the second fight with Wilder [in December 2021], he's changed his style; he goes on the front foot and he's throwing shots. He's taking a few, by the way; he's had to get off the floor a few times, but he's changed his style quite a bit. 

"He's shown what a puncher he is. This thing about 'he's not a big puncher'. Go and look at how many stoppages there are on his record [24]. You only get stopped if you can't take any more. That's what he does.

"I think that's what's going to happen to Usyk. He'll do him at his own game. Because he's very, very smart."