By James Harrison: After news that Dereck Chisora had dropped out of his clash with Tyson Fury this Saturday, Antonio Tarver offered to fill in for Chisora via Twitter. Tyson Fury overlooked Antonio Tarver, and chose Alexander Ustinov, which could prove to be a mistake for several reasons.
The first reason he should have taken this fight is because Tarver is not fight-ready. He didn’t go through a training camp for this fight, and hasn’t been in camp since November of 2013. Tarver is also the naturally smaller man as he had to climb to heavyweight (from 168 lbs.), whereas Fury (who’d enjoy a seven-inch height advantage over Tarver) made his professional debut weighing over 250 lbs.
The second reason is because of the recognition he could have received by name association. Many people remember Tarver as the first guy to truly beat Roy Jones Jr., which came by a 2nd round TKO. Though the US native did this a decade ago, the memory remains, and US boxing fans can better contextualize Fury’s abilities should he win.
Fury has faced fighters from the US, but none of them were really notable to mainstream fans. Two of his most recent three US opponents fared badly, even before their fights with Fury. Kevin Johnson lost a three-round unanimous decision to Tor Hamer (and Hamer is infamous for getting fired via Twitter after quitting on his stool in round three against Andy Ruiz), while Joey Abell was KO’d by Chris Arreola in round one of their bout.
Beating a notable guy from the US does a lot for guys who hail from the United Kingdom or England in terms of credibility. For example, Joe Calzaghe’s wins over Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr. are the ones most commonly analyzed when ranking this fighter amongst the greats.
Even in a loss to a guy from the US, a fighter can gain needed notoriety. Prior to his win over Louis Collazo, Amir Khan went 2-2 against guys from the US (he beat Paulie Malignaggi and Zab Judah while losing to Lamont Peterson and Danny Garcia). His face remained within the view of fans, and his membership under the Golden Boy stable still makes him a legit contender to pound-for-pound champion, Floyd Mayweather Jr.
In contrast, a fight with Ustinov who is scarcely known throughout the US doesn’t do much for Fury in terms of notoriety. Unless he defeats Ustinov in spectacular fashion, he won’t receive much recognition. In turn, Fury risks a blemish on his undefeated record of 16-0 against a 6″7 behemoth that could not finish a 40 year-old David Tua.
The fight is relatively risky for Fury’s reputation, as the unofficial odds are a rated around 4-1 in favor of Fury. Fury’s gameness is not in question because most are confident that he’ll fight anyone to get the fight he wants with Wladimir Klitschko. However, I am not confident that a win against Ustinov gets him any closer.
Follow the author on Twitter @Rob_Van_Ham
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