Following the retirement of David Haye, Tyson Fury has become the number one British heavyweight in boxing. For those who are unfamiliar with Fury, he is a 6ft 9 beast with a mouth to match. The Manchester native seriously believes that he is the man to end Wladimir Klitschko dominion in the heavyweight division, but does he actually have the skill-set to trouble Dr. Steelhammer?
The boxer’s next challenge is a rematch with Derek Chisora, he’s heavily favoured to win, and if he does dispatch Chisora he should be in-line to fight Klitschko, if he doesn’t chicken out like Fury suggests.
His unbeaten record of 22 wins, 16 via knockout, shows that Fury has the punching power to hurt Klitschko and with his stature he has the reach to actually hit Klitschko, something that other boxers lack. Fury actually has four inches on Klitschko, with a reach of 85inches in comparison to Klitschko’s 81 inches. This does give Fury a chance as it means that he can stand-off Klitschko and jab, a favoured tactic of Klitschko, meaning that Dr. Steelhammer would have to change tact and this could prove costly for the Ukrainian.
However, as impressive Fury’s record is he has not actually fought anyone of note bar Chisora, and that is saying something. To make the step up from boxing taxi drivers to actual prestigious boxing talent is no easy feat. Although confident in his ability it could quite easily be a case of trying to run before you can walk for Fury.
What’s more is that Fury has won his bouts due to his size, which is usually a fair few inches more than his competitor. In Klitschko he would be up against a 6ft 6 anomaly, and someone who has the height and the power to seriously rock Fury, something that no boxer has managed thus far.
Klitschko has not lost in 10 years so who is to say Fury is better than Haye, Ruslan Chagaev and Alexander Povetkin, because simply he is not. Klitschko has fought fighters of a higher calibre than Fury before and knows how to handle boxers in the highest levels. Fury does not as he is not yet to fight at the highest level. So if a bout were to be made Fury would be an outsider with bookmakers like Betfair simply because of his inexperience, even if he thinks otherwise.
Fury is shooting his mouth off to try and get a fight with Klitschko and in the boxing world it usually works, so kudos to him. However, can he back up his barrage of abuse with substantial answers? Probably not. Although it will be no walk in the park for Klitschko he should be able to carve out win number 63 against Fury, and hopefully silence the British boxer for some time.