Should we be concerned about the spectacle or just be happy Fury is the new heavyweight champion?
They are calling it the biggest upset in boxing since Buster Douglas knocked out Mike Tyson in the Tokyo Dome in 1990. Tyson Fury out foxed, out thought, out maneuvered and out boxed Wladimir Klitschko to become the WBA, IBF & WBO heavyweight champion of the world.
In truth, it was a very uneventful and unspectacular win to claim the biggest prize in boxing. The 11 year unbeaten Klitschko, who has beaten fighters such as Samuel Peter, Ray Austin, Tony Thompson, Hasim Rahman, David Haye, and Alexander Povetkin was quite frankly awful and didn’t really mount any meaningful offence until the later rounds.
Fury, who wasn’t exactly all offence himself, managed to open up an early lead by way of some well placed jabs, the odd left hook and just generally staying the busier, which didn’t take much doing.
During the fight, it seemed a lot of Fury’s taunting, faints and movement kept Klitschko off balanced and out of rhythm, which made him too often fail to pull the trigger. It is amazing to think in a heavyweight title fight Klitschko only landed 52 blows to Fury’s 86.
For me, the fight did become a bit more offensive during the later rounds when Klitschko had to sense he was losing the fight and tried to push the pace. This sparked Fury to get a point deduction in the 11th for hitting on the back of the head after already being warned.
At that time, for a second, it made me think if we could be heading for another Germany and boxing points controversy.
Thankfully this didn’t happen as Fury was clearly the better man and deserved the victory.
It was a tremendous achievement for Fury, not only to claim the biggest prize in boxing or to do it against a man who has dominated the division for the past 10 years. But to win on points in Germany, where it has been notoriously controversial for points decisions. In the end, you could say he won it easily and by a wide margin in terms of a points win in Germany.
The only problem or criticism is that in history terms, it was a very unforgettable fight. Though it will always be a monumental moment in boxing history, the fight itself will be remembered as one of the worst for the biggest prize in boxing.
Though all connected to Tyson Fury will marvel and celebrate his unbelievable achievement, that’s made history for ever and could possibly change the course of heavyweight boxing for ever. The purists, and or the cynics, may scoff at the spectacle, or lack their of and use it to further criticise this modern era of boxing.
Admittedly there was a distinct lack of any great boxing skill, finesse or the sweet science of the art. You could argue that Fury’s tactics were spot on, which made Klitschko look bad, and all his antics before and even during the fight, was all necessary in order to beat such an imposing, ultra defensive and robotic like dominant champion.
All credit to Fury as many have tried and many have failed. So you have to commend him as his execution and management of the fight was perfect, regardless of the lack of action.
He will argue that the goal was to beat Wladimir by any means necessary, make history, then take it from there.
Unfortunately, the fight, or how the belts were won does nothing to enhance the diminishing reputation of boxing. If you take the great heavyweight fights of Joe Luis, Floyd Patterson, Muhammad Ali, Joe Fraser, George Forman, Larry Holmes, Mike Tyson, Evender Hollyfield and Lennox Lewis. It’s somewhat disheartening to see where the heavyweight division is and the fight that has effectively ushered boxing into a new era.
However, I would say that is more to do with where it had been with the Klitschko brothers. Not that I am knocking them, as they did what they had and were supposed to do by dominating boxing for over 10 years and at the end of the day, they could only beat who was in front of them. But I will always feel it was in the dark ages with their dominance.
Fury on the other hand will bring a lot of charisma, unpredictability and entertainment back to the heavyweight division.
I still feel he needs to improve his boxing skills, but in there lies the attraction.
Fury will be reckless, Fury will take chances and contrary to how the Klitschko fight went, Fury will try to be entertaining, in and out the ring. All this will also make Fury vulnerable.
With the likes of Deontay Wilder, the other fighter to hold a heavyweight title belt. Former world heavyweight champion David Haye announcing his return. The new emergence of Cuban big hitter Luis Ortiz and even Olympic gold medalist Anthony Joshua, as well as the numerous other heavyweight prospects now inspired by Fury.
It’s sure to be a very interesting and exciting next few years and beyond in the heavyweight division.
Though it wasn’t a classic fight. And though he executed perfectly, I wouldn’t call it a classic performance.
I’m sure any and everybody connected to Tyson Fury will not be bothered.
Because when you look back into the history books. It will show Tyson Fury dethroning the dominant Wladimir Klitschko to become the new undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. A new era is upon us ladies and gentlemen. Let the games begin.
