The Great Tyson Fury Debate

Written By: Jasveer Singh Gill

Just recently a well respected American boxing pundit spoke about Tyson Fury and commented that “the best thing about Tyson Fury is his name”.

This is not the only person who feels this way. Many, even in Fury’s homeland of Britain, feel that if he had a more mundane name – such as Dave Walker for example – than Fury would not be getting the exposure he has done so far.

There are other factors which have seen Fury get more than his fair share of the limelight so early in his career. Fury is 6ft 9inches tall, is the son of famous bare knuckle champion Johnny Fury, his cousin is light-middleweight contender Andy Lee and more so than all the others combined Fury has a fantastic amateur pedigree. However, it can not be denied that having such a memorable name, which is also very suited to his chosen profession, has helped him tremendously.

Nevertheless, however he has got himself some exposure, Fury has done quite well with it. At just 22 years of age and with just 13 professional fights Fury is already the British Heavyweight champion. He has defeated seasoned pro’s including Zak Page and Lee Swaby (both of whom have had over 40 fights), defeated fighters with good records to defend (unbeaten Rich Power and Matthew Ellis) but most spectacularly knocked out the very tough John McDermott the former British title holder.

It was the fight against McDermott which was Fury’s biggest test to date and he came through it by stopping him in the 9^th round.

In their first bout Fury was given a dodgy decision and many felt he lost the fight, which made the rematch all the more important. Fury came through difficulty, with McDermott’s mauling and brawling style giving him problems before he had a point deducted for constant pulling on the back of the head. With this in his mind Fury started to unleash some ferocious shots and ended up stopping McDermott, someone who had 31 fights compared to Fury’s 11. Fury said after this fight that he prepared very poorly and was sparring with his cousins in preparation, one of whom was just 11 stone. Fury’s conditioning is one thing that many criticise about him. He looks far from defined but with such a big frame it must be very difficult getting into optimum shape. So far though, a lack of strength or stamina has yet to be exposed.

Fury’s amateur pedigree should tell us he possesses some quality. He was one win away from going to the Olympics to represent Britain as a super-heavyweight, losing out to David Price despite knocking him down, which is a decision which still irks Fury to this day. Fury also won a bronze medal at the World Junior Championships and was ranked the third best amateur super-heavyweight in the world at one time. Fury also won an ABA national championship before turning pro after missing out on the Olympics.

Whatever pundits see that makes Fury so obviously flawed is not as easily spotted by others. Although sometimes reckless and lacking defensive qualities Fury is still young. He possesses a lethal jab, very quick hands for such a big man and a vast array of shots, showing this by stopping opponents with body shots, uppercuts and straight rights. Still, his most famous punch is a clip where he uppercuts himself having followed through a bit too much against Swaby in 2009.

The latest news is that Fury has cleverly gone out and acquired Emanuel Steward as his trainer. Steward is a master and getting tall heavyweights to utilise their talents to become nearly unbeatable (see Lennox Lewis and Wladimir Klitschko).

It seems that whilst his name may have seen him progress quicker than many other heavyweights would have at this stage in their careers, especially at the age of just 22, the name has become more of a hindrance than a help. Perhaps at the end of his career, if he sticks with the guidance of Steward, he will be remembered for more than just his name.