JOHN FURY has given a shock assessment of Tyson Fury ahead of his fight with Oleksandr Usyk.
The Gypsy King has pencilled in a February 17 date to fight Usyk, 36, in what would be a colossal four-belt heavyweight unifier.
However, while the WBC champion remains unbeaten, his most recent fight against former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou gave him a mighty scare.
And Fury Sr, 59, has offered his take with a stark assessment of his son’s chances for the Usyk fight after being left shocked about his preparation levels before the Ngannou bout.
Speaking to the Metro via Free Bets UK, he said: “The 17th February is the date they have got to work towards.
“But in my opinion, Tyson needs a bit more time to get his conditioning right and his weight right.
“For me it looked like he had lost 20lbs of muscle last time. Something was wrong.”
Before Ngannou, Tyson, 35, had fought against Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora.
And while he collected wins in all three, John believes there has been a “decline” in his son’s form.
He continued: “For my money, his last three fights, I have seen a bit of decline. Not a decline in ability but a decline in strength, power and physical condition.
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“I don’t know what they are doing up there, you have to address it. He didn’t look himself out in Saudi.
“He didn’t look right, everything had changed about him, his demeanour, his body. I was puzzled.
“He said he had been training but there is training and there is training.
“If you’re going at your own pace no one is going to tell you otherwise, no one is going to offend you or kick you up the backside.
“No one can teach Tyson how to box, or teach him more than he knows. All they can do is put some muscle on there and make his body rock solid.
“For my money he looked fat-thin, he should have been better, a bit heavier with a lot more muscle.
“Tyson is a mammoth fella. He needs to power up in the body department and the only way you do that is a proper course and they take time and we don’t have the time.”
It is not the first time John has called out Tyson’s trainers, having previously hit out at SugarHill Steward.
And he also believes Tyson’s tactics will need tweaking before the Usyk bout.
John added: “He still won the fight [against Ngannou] because that is what he does best. But for my money, the tactics were all wrong too.
“You don’t try meet an express train head on, do you? He would have been better boxing off the back foot, slipping and sliding.
“Against the old Tyson, Ngannou wouldn’t have landed a glove on him.
“They keep missing this in the corner. They aren’t looking at what the other man is doing. He needs to change it up. All of a sudden, they think one tactic works for all fighters but it isn’t like that.
“The style I am seeing is no good, it won’t be any use boxing Usyk like that, just stood in front of him.
“You have to be clever and agile, as much as he [Usyk] is. But unless you are trained to do that, what can you say?
“Usyk is nowhere near as big and powerful as Ngannou who is one of the hardest punchers in the world. But he is a skilful heavyweight and they need to practice for that.
“He is taking more punches now than he has taken in his whole career and that could have shortened his career.
“That is the worry we have got here. Tyson is a remarkable man but sometimes he needs to listen to a bit of common sense.
“Usyk is a tricky man and you have to be on your best to beat him and the style he has got now, it won’t do the trick. He has got it in his head he can knock everyone spark out.
“But no fighter in the world can keep taking big shots. He can’t keep taking them because all of a sudden a jab can sit you down. You have to be clever and the way he beats Usyk is more brain than brawn.”
TYSON FURY VS OLEKSANDR USYK: ALL THE DETAILS YOU NEED AHEAD OF HUGE UNDISPUTED HEAVYWEIGHT BOUT