People who know boxing far better than I have mixed opinions about Tyson Fury. He has impassioned supporters and vociferous critics. I have seen a few of his fights (highlights, that is, on YouTube) and must say I like him. He has no tats, he speaks well despite having dropped out of school at age 11, he is respectful of his opponents, he has never been in legal trouble, he is a dedicated Christian and a family man to boot, he is utterly fearless, and he looks like me—that is, he is of European descent.
Fury, named by his father in honor of Mike Tyson, was born in Manchester, England to an Irish Traveller family. While the Irish Travellers have only a cultural connection and not an ethnic one to gypsies (Roma people), that did not prevent him from taking the moniker “Gypsy King.” Sometimes his trunks are emblazoned with it in big letters.
Now 35 years old, Fury’s first amateur bout came before he reached his teens. Based in a Belfast boxing club, he showed a lot of promise. He built a 31-4 record as an amateur and won several junior titles before turning pro in 2008. The 6′ 9″, 275-pounder began his ascent in Nottingham with a first-round TKO of a Hungarian named Béla Gyöngyösi. Within a year, Fury had been crowned the English heavyweight champion. He was undefeated on November 28, 2015 when he met his first really tough opponent, Wladimir Klitschko, champion for the past nine years. Fury won a unanimous 12-round decision, but Klitschko was well past his prime by then; the Ukrainian fought once more, lost and hung up his gloves.
In his fights, Fury is able to dominate opponents with long jabs—he has an enormous reach of 85 inches—but he is also adept at using inside tricks. He has excellent stamina, can switch to a lefty stance whenever that is helpful, and is said to have high boxing IQ. But his hands and feet are not especially fast. While some of the boxing cognoscenti regard him as a heavy hitter, not all agree.
Another legitimate criticism of Fury is that his managers have cherry-picked opponents, having him face “cab drivers” or “bus boys” (the old term was “tomato cans”—guys with poor or diminished skills). On his way up, he fought numerous boxers with losing records. And even now, in the winter of 2024, he has fought just one other member of the top 10: Deontay Wilder, heavyweight champ before they battled in Los Angeles on December 1, 2018. He and Wilder had a memorable trilogy of bouts, consisting of a draw and two Fury victories (a TKO and a KO). Wilder is no cab driver, believe me.
Fury apparently has his demons. After his big defeat of Klitschko, he went 2 1/2 years before getting back in the ring. That appears to make no sense. A man battles his way to the top of his profession, is recognized as the heavyweight champ and then takes a long sabbatical? Fury was stripped of his hard-won belts because of his refusal to fight, at least without a valid reason. In fact, he did have a reason, several of them—anxiety, depression, alcohol abuse, drug abuse (cocaine, to be specific), all attributed to bipolar disorder and ADHD. He later gave interviews in which he stated candidly that he often had suicidal ideations. With considerable help from his wife Paris, mother of his six good-looking kids, Fury returned to life and to boxing.
By February 2020, he was again the heavyweight champion. Still, he has not been very active—one fight in 2021, two in 2022 and one in 2023. I have seen a video of Fury stating emphatically that he is the best heavyweight boxer of all time. These title bouts are very lucrative, so why not ride the wave while you can? He does what seems best for him.
“I’m a legend in this game, and you can’t deny it,” Fury said. “I’m the best heavyweight that’s ever been. There ain’t never been one who could beat me. You know why? Six-foot nine frame, 270-pound weight, can move like a middleweight, can hit like a thunderstorm, and can take a punch like anybody out there…. All roads lead to the Gypsy King.”
His fans say he is among the best. As much as I favor him, I think he would have trouble with Muhammad Ali, George Foreman (the young version), Joe Louis, Lennox Lewis, maybe Rocky Marciano or Jack Dempsey, and I suppose I should include his namesake, Mike Tyson. Larry Holmes has scoffed at his claims, saying that in his prime he would have easily whupped Fury.
Boasting a pro record of 32-0-1, he has a title bout set for February 17 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia with Oleksandr Usyk (22-0, and a rugged fighter himself). Fury is a slight betting favorite. I expect, at the end of those proceedings in the desert kingdom, the ref to lift Fury’s massive arm and declare him the winner and still champion.
Fury puts Deontay Wilder on his backside…
With his world heavyweight champion belt…
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