Tyson Fury will be allowed to fight with his long beard this Saturday night against unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk. Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs) has chosen not to shave, and he’s been given the green light to compete with the lumberjack-looking beard.
Usyk’s team reportedly complained about the beard and wanted Fury, 36, to shave it, but he has no intention of doing so. His rationale for having the long beard is unclear, but some believe it helps cushion his chin and protects him from being hurt again by Usyk’s powerful left hand.
Why The Beard Now?
Fans believe that a large beard provides extra protection against punches on the chin, where Fury was hurt in the first fight. If that’s the reason Fury chose to keep his beard, it gives a glimpse of a desperate man willing to do anything to win.
A clean-shaven Fury was badly rocked in the ninth round by a left from Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) in their first fight on May 18th and saved by the referee, who gave him a standing eight count in the nick of time.
“He has a beard, and there’s been a lot of fighters over the years who’ve fought with beards, and that’s it,” said Fury’s promoter Frank Warren to Sky Sports Boxing.
Fury’s decision to grow a long mountain man beard suggests he is utterly desperate to win, looking for every possible angle to get the W on Saturday night against his former conqueror Usyk. The Gyspy King must win for him to get the trilogy match against Usyk that Turki Alalshikh wants to happen.
Is Fury trying to curry favor with Turki by having a beard? I wouldn’t be surprised if that was one of the Gyspy King’s motives for sporting the beard, along with protection for his chin.
Fury Desperate
There’s a lot of money in it for Fury if he can get the third fight with Oleksandr, in addition to the two likely ones that are expected to happen against Anthony Joshua.
We really don’t know why Fury has chosen to fight with a beard, as he’s treated the rematch with Usyk differently than his previous fights. He claims he hasn’t spoken to his wife, Paris, in three months since starting his training camp. If true, this suggests that Fury is desperate to win and is going all out to get the victory.
Fury looks like he’s gone through an accelerated aging process since his loss, and you can tell the defeat has hit him hard mentally. People age during times of stress, and Fury looks like 10 years have elapsed since his first fight with Oleksandr.
Given how desperate Fury is to win, hopefully, he doesn’t resort to fouling Usyk on Saturday night. Current and ex-fighters have come out of the woodwork to recommend that Fury rough up Usyk to help him win.
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