Via Allan Fox: David Haye believes the new aggressive fighting style Tyson Fury has learned from trainer Sugarhill Steward could eventually work against him to defend the WBC heavyweight title against Dillian Whyte on April 23.
Haye feels that the aggressive style Fury (31-0-1, 22 KOs) currently employs, which involves multiple exchanges, will put him in jeopardy from Whyte’s powerful left hook.
According to Haye, Fury will be more effective against Whyte if he reverts to the style he used in his win over IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko in 2015.
Fury used quick moves, dashes, and shots to keep Wladimir from hitting his power shots during that skirmish.
The only problem that might be stopping Fury from returning to his mobile fighting style is all the weight he’s put on his 6’9″ frame over the past two years.
When Fury fought Wladimir, he was a younger fighter in his 20s and weighed 247 lbs. Fury is now 33 years old and weighs 277 lbs last October in his three part fight against Deontay Wilder.
Even if Fury wanted to, he likely wouldn’t be able to return to the 247lbs he weighed for his fight with Klitschko seven years ago without fully draining himself.
So Fury might be better off staying at the weight he’s been fighting lately and hoping he can avoid being caught by Whyte’s left hook.
David Haye said: “His counterattack left hook will be a must in this fight. Secondsout about Dillian Whyte. “Tyson Fury always throws a certain number of punches, and if you can catch and throw a certain number of shots, you can lose his rhythm.
“If I had a pound, I booked it for Dillian Whyte to save my sadness,” Haye told Boxing Social. “Yes, I will go with Dillian with great sadness. We had a hard time with Anthony Joshua [losing to Usyk last September].
“I feel like the fighter that Tyson Fury has become in his last two fights, where he had the most success against Deontay Wilder. I strangely feel that style works perfectly fine for Dillian Whyte,” Haye said.
David is most likely right about Fury’s new style working “perfectly” for Whyte because he’s turned into a simple fighter who is being attacked more than he ever did before.
The fighting style Fury used in his last two bouts with Deontay Wilder worked well against him, but only because he didn’t have the match content, fitness, chin and was too poor.
In contrast, Whyte can fight inside, has excellent cardio, and will weigh close to 250 lbs. He won’t weigh more than 42 lbs the way Wilder did in his rematch with Fury.
“What I feel isn’t going to work is Tyson Fury versus Wladimir Klitschko, who is fun to be outside, just touching and moving and robbing rounds,” Haye said of a style Whyte will struggle with. . “That will be more difficult for Dillian Whyte to get through.
“The coaches in the corner can only do so much,” Haye said when asked how Fury & Whyte’s coaches would impact results.
“I definitely like Sugar [Steward] in his final battle against Deontay Wilder. He really has to embrace him. He reminds me of Emanuel Stewart with the way he used to preach about Wladimir.
“He was literally shouting at him, telling him what to do. You can see that the respect is there. He understood what needed to be done and went out there and did it,” says Haye.
As long as Sugarhill has a good backup plan for Fury to use if his original game plan doesn’t work for Dillian, he should win.
