A body language expert believes one of Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk is already ‘floundering’ and ‘subdued’ – so much so that she has predicted a clear winner.
Fury and Usyk shared an astonishing 11-minute, 20-second face-off on Thusday and met each other again at Friday’s weigh-in.
The pair will go toe-to-toe for Usyk’s WBA, WBO, and WBC heavyweight belts on Saturday night in Riyadh, with Fury looking to get revenge after his split decision defeat in May.
Fury and Usyk had to be pulled apart on Thursday and both looked to try and gain a psychological edge over the other, with the Gypsy King vowing to ‘dish out a whole lot of pain’ and ‘do some f***ing damage’.
But it is the Ukrainian who body language expert Judi James believes has the upper hand after their confrontation, as she told BetUK.
‘Usyk won the ten-minute stare-off. He was so still and solid I believe he could still be there now in the same pose. This suggests physical and mental resilience and calm purpose that is breath-taking,’ said James.
A body language expert believes Oleksandr Usyk has the psychological edge over Tyson Fury
Judi James says the Ukrainian looked more ‘focused’ and ‘professional’, while Fury was ‘subdued’ and ‘floundering’
Fury hopes to avenge his loss from May and claim the WBA, WBO, and WBC heavyweight belts
‘His eye-stare looks fixed and focused, making him look silently prepped for the fight. His blink-rate is almost negligible, hinting at a lack of tension or stress and when he does blink it is a hard blink, showing inner anger.
‘His responses to Fury make him appear untroubled, unintimidated and unaffected. He looked at Fury with no change of expression and no pantomime grimaces or scowls.
‘At the weigh-in his body posturing was purely professional, with muscle-flexes and raised fists. His signature pose with his chin raised and a frowning stare suggests focus and fearlessness.
‘His body is splayed in an act of professional aggressive arousal rather than peacocking.
‘The man has no body language signs of weakness apart from a couple of subtle tells during the face-off when his mouth seemed to be twitching in what could be a hint of inner anxiety.’
However, it was bad news for Fury, who suffered the first defeat of his career at the 36th attempt back in May.
That night the judges scored the bout 115-112 Usyk, 114-113 Fury and 114-113 Usyk, leaving the Gypsy King bitter as he declared that ‘people are siding with Usyk because of the Ukraine war’, and body language guru James thinks Fury could be headed for another blot on his copy book.
‘Fury’s complete state-reversal from affable, chatty showman to this sulky, Grizzly-Adams, monosyllabic stage-quitter is so acute that it could be a risky option.
Fury’s transition to a ‘monosyllabic stage-quitter’ could be draining his emotional energy
Meanwhile, Usyk’s demeanour betrayed no sign of weakness besides a modicum of potential inner anxiety
‘His body language at both the conference and the weigh-in is so subdued that it looks like an over-kill, over-congruent and inauthentic act. His crinkly eye-smiles keep trying to erupt and he seems to be supressing them physically by running a hand over his beard or face. Supressing like this takes emotional energy that he should probably be saving for the fight.
‘He arrived for the weigh-in with his hands stuffed into his pockets, which is a gesture associated with hiding or not wanting to be somewhere. He lurked at the back of the stage and he left the stage before doing an interview.
‘Posing with Usyk he performed two significant acts: his hands fell into the fig-leaf pose, which is a self-protective barrier in front of the crotch, and his chewing got so extreme we could see the gum. Sports people often chew gum to fight anxiety.
‘There was no ten-minute stare-off, instead Fury turned then turned back. Usyk’s hand flap in his direction looked dismissive.
‘A comparison of their body language would place the chance of a win in Usyk’s corner then. Fury seems too busy trying to be something he’s not and it is not intimidating his opponent by doing so, but it could confuse him. It suggests he’s floundering, switching states as an announcement to his fans rather than himself.
‘But…there was one body language moment that made a Fury win look more promising. At the end of their epic stare-off something seemed to have genuinely snapped in Fury. His face became sweaty and his expression looked fearsome as he yelled at his opponent. If he can tap into that more focused state, with a strong upper-cut he could still pull off a win.’
Of course, the fight is won in the ring rather than in the build-up. Fury still has every chance of pulling off a result, and Mail Sport’s Charlotte Daly has been hearing from some of the experts about how he can swing the showdown in his favour.
Lennox Lewis explained how the 36-year-old must bring an aggressive strategy and make the most of his physical advantage.
On Friday night, Fury weighed in 19lbs heavier than he did for the first fight, clocking 281lbs, though his actual weight is expected to be more in the region of 270lbs. Meanwhile, Usyk came in at 226lbs in comparison to the May fight when he weighed in at 223lbs.
Lennox Lewis has revealed the gameplan he thinks Fury should employ against Usyk
Lewis believes Fury needs to use his uppercut more regularly in Saturday’s rematch
He has also urged Fury to be more aggressive and try to push Usyk back in the ring
‘I would go right after him because I’d say he’s not as strong as me,’ Lewis told to Mail Sport.
‘And he would realise this and he would move and it would be a situation where I’m cutting off the ring and putting my weight on him, throwing that jab, that left hook, that right hand. I’d be a pugilist specialist in that fight using all my strengths.
‘Whether it’s my uppercut, whether it’s my jab, whether it’s my hook. And I’ve got to put all those things together.
‘He’s going to see that he had great effect with his uppercut so he’s going to be throwing it a lot more.
‘I would throw some combinations and end off with the uppercut, because he’s going to throw the left, right then the hook and he’s going to duck under that. Then, the uppercut should be there.’