Articles
Articles & Blogs by Caine Blake, L.M. Edmead
Archive examples of the Arts & Sports: Art & Society Exhibition; Tate Modern. Lammas project: Grand designs. Dylan & Noble Prize. Mary Magdalene of Ford, Billy Joe Saunders vs Saul Canelo Alvarez. Fury vs Wilder 1. The saga of Kovalev vs Ward, The film: Inferno, Leicester city FC. Mayweather vs Mcgregor.
By Caine Blake:
Caine Blake
Caine Blake Collage: 'Art' & 'The Art of Boxing'. Created & Designed by L.M. Edmead, 2022. ( Individual Art, Photographs Copyrights of the originals, still applies)
Caine Blake; reviewer, journalist & writer for 'Fool Circle Creations' originally in the random (manual) news-letters. Caine Blake will now also be writing in Fool Circle Creations website, writing on cultural subjects such as music, sports, art etc... with new & old contributions & updating from original news-letters.
The Historical Heavy-weight bout between the 35 year old Tyson 'Gypsy King' Fury from England the WBC, Lineal Champion vs the 37 year old Oleksandr ‘The Cat’ Usyk from Ukraine, the WBA, IBF, IBO, WBO, Ring magazine champion, for the first ever 4 belt Heavyweight Undisputed Championship of the World. The last Heavyweight Undisputed Champion was 25 years ago with the Lennox Lewis from England who beat Evander Holyfield of the USA in1990, which was for the 3 belt championship. Fury & Usyk are unique coming into this Undisputed bout with both unbeaten as oppossed to Lewis & Holyfield who had both had losses on their records.
The world waits in anticipation for to see who will be crowned the the Undisputed heavyweight King for 25 years in waiting and the first ever at 4 belt era.
As well as the four belts, a special commemorative belt was made specifically for the fight on The special edition WBC Fury-Usyk belt was blessed by Pope Francis, the leader of the Roman Catholic faith.
Billed as: Ring of Fire
Date: 18th of May 2024.
Location: at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
I have always backed & betted on Fury from Wladimir Klitschko onwards, but this the only Fury fight, I have strong doubts and keep swaying. So if I lay-out my pros & cons from my head & heart, then once written down, weigh it up, I should be able to conclude my final decision on prediction who is to win.
Table by Caine Blake.
| Fury (points) | Factor | Usyk (points) | Edge |
| 1 |
Defence: Both excellent |
2 |
Fury been knocked down 6 times in pro-career & badly cut. Usyk 3 times in pro-career, once below belt(Dubios), one elbow to stomach (Medgidov) & one a slip (Glowacki), where as Fury clear face/head hits. |
| 1 | Mental Strength | 1 | Both are a league of their own. |
| 2 | Any means | 1 | Usyk respectful warrior, by the rules. Where as Fury any means necessary, will fight dirty if needed to get the win. |
| 1 |
Stamina: Both Excellent |
2 | Fury will gas between rounds, rest & recover, but has a great tank. Usyk will also rest between rounds, but his punch output, consistent movement, stamina & fitness is superior to Fury's. |
| 1 | Discipline | 2 |
Fury's diet in & of out camp, between fights. Is hit & miss, not consistent. Plus the history alcohol & drug abuse of the body. Plus the extreme body weight gain & fluctuating of weight, will eventual take its toll. Where as Usyk treats his body like a temple. |
| 2 |
Knock out power: Usyk 21 fights- 14 knockouts Fury 35 fights 24 Knockouts |
1 |
Usyk has got 66.67% (boxRec) Fury has 70.59% (boxRec) |
| 2 |
Jab: both excellent |
2 | Fury's varied jab, flick, measuring, touch,hit,ram. Usyk consistent jab, plus also varied touch, hit ram. measure, his effected up-jab on taller fighters very effective. |
| 1 |
Elusiveness: both excellent |
2 | Fury's agility, reflexes, for a super heavy-weight at 6ft 9 is unique & incredible. But Usyk elusiveness is consistent. |
| 1 |
Foot work: both excellent |
2 | But Usyk got the edge. |
| 2 | Physical presence | 1 | Height, weight, reach give Fury advantage. |
|
|
External Factors |
|
|
| 1 | Arabian Summer heat | 2 | Usyk consistent fitness, would adjust better to the heat. |
| 2 | Biased | 1 | Turki Alalshikh biased attitude & comments & financial influence of event in-favour of Fury & his future plans for Fury. |
| 17 | Total | 19 |
|
Conclusion:
The battle of the jab and the battle of the front foot will be crucial for the outcome of the fight.
With the table of factors findings I give Usyk the edge. but if it finishes in a close fight I can not see Usyk getting the decision in Riyadh on a points decision. Unless clearly he unanimously won the fight. I can see Fury mixing it up & playing dirty to win. But I can not see either accomplishing a knockout.
I stated this pre-fight last week on my twitter!
·
Londoner & Brit AJ all the way! He could stop Usyk,then all Brit AJ & Fury. Concerns AJ blamed & fired his coach, when he chose to box & lost, new coach will play into Usyk's hands. AJ contradictions & like his trying convince himself as well. Mental,Skill,fitness = Usyk 2nd Win
On reflection since that fight, I thought AJ performed a lot better this time around, And he was resilient at absorbing Usyk's punches this time as well. I am glad AJ is not retiring, he is still a top heavyweight & he will great in the mix. Stylistically Usyk is all wrong for him. But I still think Fury is abetter fight for him, his combination would flow better, punching upwards, as opposed to punching down. Fury is the favourite for me in so many ways, but AJ has better chance catching Fury than he did with Usyk. AJ's combinations would be more effective than Otto Wallin & look what he did & AJ beat Wallin in the amateurs. Food for thought.
In relation to AJ's behaviour after the fight. I just can't except the excuses. Snatching the mic away & making that speech, was all about control, attempting to take control back, after losing control of the fight & the limelight. Then going on about his upbringing. Most boxers have got a story, boxing has historically been of the poor working class's & still is. Also most boxers don't get rich, a few do at the top, AJ is very rich man. Also going on about Usyk's amateur career, AJ won gold medal at Superheavyweight Olympics & had good amateur career. Stating about being under pressure, what about Usyk being part of the Ukraine army defending his country, before being released for this fight & his family, friends & country still in a warzone, invaded by the Russian military, I was concerned this could be a distraction for Usyk in mind, body & spirit, but know AJ had to make it all about him. The whole speech was totally embarrassing, I was cringing during that. Throwing the belts, was childish & so disrespectful. Trying to bully people in the ring & out of the ring. AJ has been the golden boy of boxing for along time now, especially in the UK & he acted like it, a spoilt brat, sorry! no excuses. But as far as a boxing goes, I would not right him off, I think he can still be dangerous & effective amongst other top heavyweights.