By: Sean Crose
Former world champion Shawn Porter surprised some people when he claimed on the Deep Waters podcast that he didn’t believe Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk would actually fight. Others on the panel, which included former world champions Chris Algieri and Paulie Malignaggi – along with George Jacovic – clearly disagreed. Still, Porter had his reasons to argue that Fury-Usyk, which will occur on February 17, won’t actually happen.
“What we know about Tyson Fury is that he is a showman,” Porter began. “What we know about Tyson Fury is that he likes things to be his way or not.” And, as far as Porter is concerned, the fight with Usyk doesn’t guarantee things will go Fury’s way. “I personally,” Porter continued, “I don’t feel like this is the kind of energy he (Fury) wants to exert in the boxing ring, which is why he went after Francis Ngannou… that’s the kind of fights he’s into. looking for things that will give him the money, the recognition and the nights that he won’t have to negotiate much for.
Algieri noted that if Porter was right, Fury would be better off joining WWE. “Don’t be surprised if something comes up with WWE before this,” Porter responded. “I think there are a lot of advantages for Tyson Fury, but I don’t see him being able to see those advantages and feel like ‘hey, I’m going to win that fight, I’m going to beat him.'” That being said, Porter indicated that he felt Fury would defeat Usyk if they actually got knocked down.
“If he gets in the ring with him,” Porter said of Fury, “I hope he wins that fight and sails off into the sunset. I think it will be the last one for him, if he has that fight.
Algieri admitted he was surprised by how close the February 17 fight date was. “I think the fight is going to happen,” he said. “I’m not so sure it’s going to happen in six weeks, because like Shawn says, Fury likes to be the captain of his own ship and thinks the whole world revolves around whatever the hell he says and for a while it definitely does.” was”. . “I’m not sure it’s going to happen when it’s supposed to happen, but I do think it will happen at some point.”
Malignaggi, on the other hand, believes that Fury-Usyk is going down as planned. “This fight will take place on February 17,” Malignaggi said. “That’s it. This fight is going to happen. Fury has been quiet because Fury gets into his spacing zone when he goes into full concentration mode and that’s when you know he’s actually preparing very, very well. ”.
