Usyk-fury is great but it won’t top 70s

LAST WEEK marked the 46th anniversary of one of the greatest heavyweight clashes of all time, five rounds of mayhem between George Foreman and Ron Lyle.

Foreman was coming back from defeat to Muhammad Ali two years prior. Lyle also lost to Ali, in 1975, but was ahead on all three cards when the ref stopped it in the 11th round.

As we build up towards the showdown for the unified heavyweight title between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk, that hellraiser in Las Vegas in 1976 reminded me of what boxing is missing.

Foreman was down twice in the first, Lyle once (the pair, above). It continued at the same pace until Lyle was toppled in the fifth. I can’t recall any of today’s heavyweights touching that in terms of excitement.

Mike Tyson was spectacular but the punishment was going only one way.

These days there is none of the giveand-take we had in the Seventies. Ali v Joe Frazier in 1971 was sensational, not to mention the Thriller in Manilla in ‘75.

Riddick Bowe and Evander Holyfield came close. There might be others too. But not with the same frequency.

As much as I love Usyk, he avoids tear-ups. I don’t blame him for that. He is technically excellent, but you are never going to see him in a barnburner.

Fury blitzed Deontay Wilder in their second fight, but there was nothing coming back. The first fight was exciting only because of Fury’s rise from the deck.

Fury v Usyk will not take us back to the Seventies. It will be a technical contest. Usyk wins by getting in and out of punching range. Fury wins by jabbing him into oblivion and not letting him get close.

It might be engrossing but I don’t see three knockdowns in the opening round. I would love it were Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou to go at it, but that is not easy at the massive weights today’s fighters carry.

It was exhaustion that stopped Lyle in the end. Foreman too was out on his feet and that was just five rounds.

Foreman weighed two pounds over

16st, Lyle four pounds under and we thought they were huge. Fury and Ngannou are both 19st-plus.

Usyk weighs the same as Lyle and Fury dismisses him as a middleweight. If you look back at the Seventies most guys started out between 14 and 15st, a far better weight for excitement.

If you don’t believe me, watch Foreman and Lyle on Youtube. You won’t regret it.