SugarHill Steward gave his verdict on the ninth-round drama between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk.
The pair fought on Saturday night in Riyadh, live on DAZN , as the two heavyweights contested the first four-belt undisputed heavyweight championship in history.
Usyk scraped a split-decision victory after 12 rounds, but victory could have been more emphatic as the referee gave Fury sufficient time to recover from a standing count when he looked in real disarray against the Ukrainian.
Fury was able to hold on for the rest of the round and was far more settled for the remainder of the bout, but he did not do enough to claim the win.
His trainer Steward, analysed Fury’s attempt to stay in the fight at that point, and he backed his fighter’s strategy.
“When that happened in the ninth round – obviously Tyson’s been through a lot; he’s an intelligent fighter – he’s supposed to do what he’s supposed to do,” the American said, reported BoxingScene.com . “Protect yourself; slip; dip; hold. Whatever you gotta do.
“That’s a part of boxing. It always has to be in the game plan when you get put in a situation like that.”
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