Has anyone ever forced Hughie Fury to fight inside? How did he handle himself?

[JohnReed]

I'm studying Hughie's fights right now. Every last one of them shows Hughie handling himself on the outside, for better or worse. He wins by jabbing, running, and throwing his long right cross. He loses by getting on his horse and outrunning guys who make him vulnerable, IMO. Either way, Hughie -- as best as I can tell -- has never given the public a glimpse of how he fights at close quarters, if forced to do so.

Do you guys know of any Hughie fights -- especially in his deep past -- where a shorter foe bulled his way inside and compelled him to punch or cover up?

[Ruthless-RKO]

Respect to you!

Studying Hughie and watching his fights.

[JohnReed]

Respect to you!

Studying Hughie and watching his fights.

What's your call: can Hughie handle himself on the inside? What's going to happen when Povetkin gets in there, in Hughie's face? So far, I can't find any casebook studies (i.e., fights) where that's happened to Hughie.

On the other hand, we all know what Povetkin does to tall guys when he gets inside their long-arms. That's when Alexander turns the big men into punching bags (with the exception of AJ and Klitschko).

[KiwiRider]

Ive not seen him fight on the inside.
Only hold and tie up an advancing guy who gets past he legs and jab. I expect him to do this if Povitkin can cut off the ring- which he is fairly good at when he is fresh.
I really don't know how this fight pans out. The only thing I can predict is a 70% chance if it being boring. Only Povitkin can decide how it goes, Huggie is odds on to get on his bike the first time Povitkin lands a bit of power on him.

[JohnReed]

Ive not seen him fight on the inside.
Only hold and tie up an advancing guy who gets past he legs and jab. I expect him to do this if Povitkin can cut off the ring- which he is fairly good at when he is fresh.
I really don't know how this fight pans out. The only thing I can predict is a 70% chance if it being boring. Only Povitkin can decide how it goes, Huggie is odds on to get on his bike the first time Povitkin lands a bit of power on him.

I'm watching the Hughie-Rudenko fight at this moment. It's pretty obvious that Hughie has no answer for infighting -- or fending off close-quarters pressure -- except to hold. Sometimes the slow, clumsy, weak hitting Rudenko even swamps Hughie with some punches on the way in, and Hughie's high-guard defense looks almost panicky. Rudenko lacks the talent and strength to accomplish anything, but Hughie's instincts, and limitations IMO, are on full display here.

I thought I saw flashes of Hughie's flightly clinching strategy even against Sam Sexton, who was badly outclassed by Fury. So, in spurts, these bouts are giving us hints about the problems Hughie will face against a top-flight bulldog, swarmer, infighter like Povetkin.

I think Povetkin is good enough to get some shots off against Hughie on the attack, before Hughie grabs and hugs him. That means Hughie will be at risk of getting hurt, or of getting weakened. Not a good prognosis for Hughie against a hard-charging stamina fighter like Povetkin, who is very, very sneaky in the way he lands punches at close range.

It will be interesting to see how the referee handles this one.

[KiwiRider]

Ive not seen him fight on the inside.
Only hold and tie up an advancing guy who gets past he legs and jab. I expect him to do this if Povitkin can cut off the ring- which he is fairly good at when he is fresh.
I really don't know how this fight pans out. The only thing I can predict is a 70% chance if it being boring. Only Povitkin can decide how it goes, Huggie is odds on to get on his bike the first time Povitkin lands a bit of power on him.

I'm watching the Hughie-Rudenko fight at this moment. It's pretty obvious that Hughie has no answer for infighting -- or fending off close-quarters pressure -- except to hold. Sometimes the slow, clumsy, weak hitting Rudenko even swamps Hughie with some punches on the way in, and Hughie's high-guard defense looks almost panicky. Rudenko lacks the talent and strength to accomplish anything, but Hughie's instincts, and limitations IMO, are on full display here.

I thought I saw flashes of Hughie's flightly clinching strategy even against Sam Sexton, who was badly outclassed by Fury. So, in spurts, these bouts are giving us hints about the problems Hughie will face against a top-flight bulldog, swarmer, infighter like Povetkin.

I think Povetkin is good enough to get some shots off against Hughie on the attack, before Hughie grabs and hugs him. That means Hughie will be at risk of getting hurt, or of getting weakened. Not a good prognosis for Hughie against a hard-charging stamina fighter like Povetkin, who is very, very sneaky in the way he lands punches at close range.

It will be interesting to see how the referee handles this one.

Hi John,
For me, the Sexton fight was a bit out of character. If only he would fight like that all the time!
Something tells me he has a suspect chin. You can see it in the Parker fight. Parker cracks him with a right, and Hughie gets on his bike and stops throwing. Same thing with Pulev
I dunno. I thought after Sexton; this is it! Hughie is a contender, and coming of age... And then...

[JohnReed]

There's a concurrent thread on Povetkin-Fury in the Current Scene Forum. I'm linking these two conversations.

viewtopic.php?f=22&t=233178

[JohnReed]

Hi John,
For me, the Sexton fight was a bit out of character. If only he would fight like that all the time!
Something tells me he has a suspect chin. You can see it in the Parker fight. Parker cracks him with a right, and Hughie gets on his bike and stops throwing. Same thing with Pulev
I dunno. I thought after Sexton; this is it! Hughie is a contender, and coming of age... And then...

Yes, I noticed that same thing in Hughie's efforts against Parker and Pulev. I'm convinced that Hughie sensed danger, and that shut down his offensive entirely.

I did a little boxing as a teenager and college student, just sparring stuff. But I remember the many times I sensed someone's punches could hurt me, or knock me out. My instinctive reaction was to run, run, run. And to not take the risk of putting myself in the pocket -- the firing range -- where I could strike at my foe. To put myself in "the pocket" would have run the risk of getting myself KO'd. So, I didn't just run; I held back my fire. Remained on bicycle...too much.

I really believe that Hughie showed that same tendency in his Pulev and Parker bouts. Povetkins's not an overwhelming hitter, but he carries sufficient clout to hurt anyone, particularly if he doubles and triples up on his shots. So, if Povetkin gets close enough to score -- and to connect before being grabbed -- then I think Hughie will become gun shy again.