Boxing
‘I’m fat, bald and out of shape… but I always win’ – Tyson Fury slams sports science in boxing
Analytics in sport has been on the rise over the last 20 years. However, Tyson Fury does not believe in its place in boxing.
The popularisation of analytics in sports first grew in Baseball, when Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane was able to break league records with, by far, the smallest budget in the league. Beane used a form of analytics called sabermetrics to evaluate and identify undervalued players to bring in to the team in order to create a winning formula amongst a team.
Beane also became co-owner of Barnsley FC in 2018, just two years later, using sabermetrics, he helped put together the youngest squad and one of the smallest budgets in the Championship, finishing in fifth place and making it to the play-offs for the first-time in 24 years.
The Oakland Athletics were the only known team to use analytics to make on-field decisions at the time. Fast-forward to today, almost every team in world sport is heavily reliant on using forms of data.
In recent years, analytical metrics are said to have been available to boxing coaches, with Anthony Joshua said to be a proponent of using the available data to improve his overall performance level.
WBC heavyweight champion of the world Fury, however, is not convinced.
Speaking on Instagram live, Fury was open in his dismissal of analytics in boxing, as he made the point that numbers on a screen can’t help you win in the ring.
Fury explained: “In boxing, computer science and technology – I personally do not think works.
“You take me for instance, I am far, bald, people say I am out of shape – I do not do any of that b******* with computers, numbers on a screen and all that stuff.
“But yet, I always win. So it obviously means f*** all.”
Fury even cited a fight which he believes show that analytics would be useless in determining the outcome of.
He added: “You look at Anthony Joshua who follows all of those numbers on a screen and whatnot, and then you look at Andy Ruiz who eat nothing but Snickers for two weeks – Ruiz went in there and knocked him out.
“There’s a lot of stuff to say that all those numbers don’t work.”
Whilst Fury and Ruiz’ respective fighting weights may suggest that they could be in better shape, which ultimately may have put them both in better positions to win certain fights, it’s fair to say that anything can happen in heavyweight boxing.
Fury’s intangible boxing skills have undoubtedly allowed him to dominate his opponents throughout his career – whilst arguably fighting at a larger than optimal weight for his size.
Fury has certainly implemented a more laid back approach to his off-season, and even pre-camp training sessions.
Whilst he does seemingly continue to train in the gym with no fight in the works, the Gypsy King is happy to put on a few pounds before getting back down to a comfortable fight weight – which last saw him fight at his heaviest of 277lbs.
Fury’s ability to remain that athletic at 277 lbs clearly demonstrate how unique of a boxer, and athlete, that he truly is.
However, whether this would be his optimal fighting weight could be debated.
-MEN
Oleksandr Usyk will put his WBC heavyweight title belt on the line against Dutch kickboxer Rico Verhoeven on May 23 at Egypt’s Pyramids of Giza, Ring Magazine announced on Friday.
The Ukrainian three-times undisputed champion holds the IBF, WBA and WBC titles after vacating the WBO belt.
The 39-year-old has not boxed since beating Britain’s Daniel Dubois at London’s Wembley Stadium last July.
“I respect his (Verhoeven’s) journey – he’s truly the ‘King of Kickboxing’. But this is boxing – a different game, with its own rules and its own kings,” said Usyk, who has a 24-0 record.
“I’m ready and looking forward to meeting him in the ring. It’s going to be a unique experience for both of us, and I know the fans are excited too. A big night is coming.”
The ‘Glory in Giza’ fight will be streamed live on DAZN.
“I spent 12 years as the undisputed heavyweight kickboxing champion and accomplished everything I set out to accomplish,” Verhoeven, 36, told The Ring.
“But staying at the top for that long didn’t take away from the hunger; it strengthened it. Usyk is the undisputed champion in boxing. That’s the kind of challenge that motivated me. Undisputed versus undisputed.”
Verhoeven has sparred in the past with former champion Tyson Fury and had one professional bout in 2014, which he won by a knockout.
-Reuters
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Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao will face off in a professional rematch at the Sphere in Las Vegas in September, with the bout streaming globally on Netflix, the fighters and promoters announced on Monday.
The fight marks Mayweather’s return from retirement and will be the first professional boxing match held at the Sphere.
Mayweather, who holds a perfect 50-0 record with 27 knockouts, defeated Pacquiao in their 2015 encounter dubbed the “Fight of the Century.”
That bout generated a record 4.6 million pay-per-view buys and a $72 million live gate at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
“I already fought and beat Manny once. This time will be the same result,” Mayweather said in a statement.
Pacquiao, whose record stands at 62-8-3 with 39 knockouts, expressed confidence he would hand Mayweather his first professional loss.
“I want Floyd to live with the one loss on his professional record and always remember who gave it to him,” the Filipino fighter said.
The rematch will stream to Netflix’s more than 325 million subscribers worldwide, continuing the platform’s push into live boxing.
The streaming platform has recently broadcast several high-profile fights, including Jake Paul versus Mike Tyson, which the company said drew 108 million live global viewers
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Former multi-weight world boxing champion Floyd Mayweather will come out of retirement this year for his first official fight in nearly a decade, his new promotion CSI Sports/Fight Sports said on Friday, though his opponent has yet to be decided.
Before his official return, Mayweather is set for an exhibition bout with fellow boxing great Mike Tyson, with the date and venue still to be announced.
“I still have what it takes to set more records in the sport of boxing – from my upcoming Mike Tyson event to my next professional fight afterwards – no one will generate a bigger gate, have a larger global broadcast audience and generate more money with each event – than my events,” Mayweather, 48, said in a statement on his new promotion’s website.
It will mark the American’s fourth comeback from retirement, following previous exits in 2007, 2015 and 2017 — the last after beating Conor McGregor to extend his record to 50-0. He has, however, fought several exhibitions since.
Across a three-decade career, Mayweather defeated many of his era’s top fighters and headlined the three highest‑grossing bouts in history, against Manny Pacquiao, McGregor and Canelo Alvarez.
-Reuters
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