George Groves Reveals The Key To Fury Beating Usyk
Fury Tipped To Damage Usyk With Body Blow Barrage
Tyson Fury had success in the first Usyk fight by going downstairs to the body and George Groves wants to see the Gypsy King utilise the tactic much more in the upcoming rematch;
George Groves: “I think going to the body is definitely key to success [for Fury]. The body is a bigger target than the head and the head can move more freely than the body can. Usyk can’t walk through those shots. He’s not big enough, he’s not strong enough. So if Fury can settle, get into his legs and get the distance correct with Usyk, be able to control the time of the shot and keep that arm’s length, that long range. That’s where I think he has success in this fight.”
Fury Coming In Heavy Could Play Into Usyk’s Hands
Gareth A Davies claims Fury is on course to weigh in at a career heaviest against Usyk but Groves has warned that such a plan may not be beneficial at all against such a fleet-footed opponent;
George Groves: “I wouldn’t encourage Fury to come in heavy because he’s going to have to be nimble enough, even on that front foot, because the guy in front of him is a smaller man with faster feet. So if he’s bigger and heavier than usual, then one, it’s hard to move your feet and two, you’re likely going to gas quicker than you usually will. He’s already big enough. He’s already heavy enough. He already punches hard enough. He can punch hard enough at 18.5st, just as good as 19.5st in fact.”
Big John Fury Can’t Help His Mad Outbursts
Tyson’s father John Fury infamously headbutted one of Usyk’s coaches before their first fight and Groves thinks we could witness so more hot-headed antics despite him staying calm so far;
George Groves: “If I was part of the Fury team, I would advise John Fury to step back a touch. But I think he can’t help it, that’s who he is. That’s part of his nervous makeup and he will know that he’s nervous this time around you know so let’s see how he performs in fight week. I wasn’t a fan of the headbutt that he did you know in the build up, but he’s part of the promo video, he’s part of the scenes, part of the character.”
Usyk vs Fury 2 ‘Chess Match’ Will Not Last 12 Rounds
A split decision decided the first encounter in Usyk’s favour but ‘Saint George’ thinks the rematch will be stopped by the referee before the judges are required;
George Groves: “If one or both are more aggressive then we should see a stoppage. Whether the aggressive fighter is the one that comes out the top or not, that’s to be told. There’s a chess match element to it. Make one mistake and you can pay the price for it. It’s not necessarily that either guy is known for that equaliser power when they walk you on to one shot, but you can walk on to a shot that buzzes you a bit, or that gasses you because you get caught in the bread basket behind the ribs.”
Victory Over Dave Allen Would Be Huge For ‘Romford Bull’
Johnny Fisher has already impressed in the boxing ring since turning professional, but Groves thinks that a victory over Dave Allen could catapult the ‘Romford Bull’ onto much bigger things;
George Groves: “Dave Allen is a wily old cat but he’s certainly passed his best in his career. Johnny’s had a few great lines in the build up to this. ‘Im a rainy night at Stoke etc’ but I think at some point he’s going to start talking about himself like, all of a sudden Stoke have been promoted. Stoke are in the Premier League! And I think it will come for him. He’s got to get past Dave Allen which is a nice little gut check, acid test for him. And if he blows him away, then he really puts himself on the scene for some big fights.”
Lawrence Okolie Shows Similarities To Deontay Wilder
After succeeding in his heavyweight debut last weekend, Lawrence Okolie reminds Groves of the ‘Bronze Bomber’ Deontay Wilder after knocking out Germany’s Hussein Muhamed at Wembley;
George Groves: “I always thought at cruiserweight he had almost Deontay Wilder-esque punch power. He was long and lean but not necessarily muscular but with incredible punch power. Too tall and sort of too awkward at cruiserweight to really see the best of him. Now he’s gone up to heavyweight, where the guys are slightly slower. If there is a target to land on and he punches this hard, I feel like his future lies at heavyweight.”
