By Tim Royner: Trainer Peter Fury says his son former heavyweight title challenger Hughie Fury (20-1, 10 KOs) is having a hard time getting fights since his 12 round majority decision defeat to WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker last year on September 23 at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England.
Peter still insists that the 23-year-old Hughie deserved the decision win in the Parker fight despite the fact that the boxing world widely saw it as a one-sided victory for the New Zealand fighter. Hughie ran for 12 rounds, holding and throwing every few punches. It was one of the more negative performances that have been seen by a heavyweight title challenger in recent times. You’d have to go all the way back to the Lennox Lewis vs. Henry Akinwande fight to find a fighter that was more negative than Hughie. Akinwande disqualified in the 5th round by referee Mills Lane for excessive clinching in the Lewis fight on July 12, 1997. Hughie was even more negative than Akinwande. It was a horrible fight to watch from Hughie.
“Hughie can do a lot more. It’s good in that respect that he’s come away without the decision because now he’s tested it; he knows what it’s like,” said Peter Fury to Boxnation.com. ”He’s ready for world level, but it’s whoever we can get. People are avoiding him at the moment; it’s very difficult to get him fights.” said Peter.
Hughie might need to change his fighting style if he wants to get more fights. He’s rated high enough to get another world title shot if he can put some fights together. Above all, Hughie needs to be more aggressive in his fights. The way that he fought Parker was hard to watch. The top heavyweights in the division aren’t going to want to chase Hughie around the ring for 12 rounds. Hughie’s goal in fighting seems to be him trying to make it go to a decision so he can get lucky a win. That approach isn’t going to work long term. Hughie might win some fights by spoiling, but he won’t be able to count on it as a long-term strategy for success.
It’s not surprising that they’re having a demanding time getting fights for Hughie. The way that he clinched and ran all night against Parker, it would take a special fighter to want to deal with that kind of fighting. It would have been good for Peter to at least admit that Hughie lost the fight afterwards. But for him to think Hughie deserved the win against Parker, it looks bad. If a fighter and his team aren’t going to admit when they’ve been totally dominated, it sets up future situations where other fighters have to deal potentially with them raising a stink after the fights if they fail to go their way.
Hughie didn’t get dropped down too far in the heavyweight rankings following his loss to Parker. Hughie is currently rated #10 WBO, #15 WBC. Hughie can get back up there if he starts winning again. Hughie has been out of the ring for the last 4 months, and he doesn’t have a fight scheduled. That’s not good. The judges scored the Parker-Hughie fight 118-110, 118-110 for Parker and 114-114.
Hughie needs to take on one of these fighters: Dillian Whyte, David Price, Tony Bellew or Dereck Chisora. If Hughie can face one of those guys and beat them, he would get pushed back near the top of the rankings. The problem is it’s unclear whether Hughie can beat any of those guys with the way he fights now. He’s so negative. He’ll need to be a lot more aggressive in the future during his fights for him to win. There are not too many judges that are going to be willing to give Hughie a decision with the way he runs around the ring.
Hughie didn’t look good in his fights against Andiy Rudenko, Dominic Guinn or Fed Kassi. Hughie was getting tagged by Kassi at the time the fight was halted in due to a clash of heads in the 7th. Kassi looked like the better fighter.
“He’s a fabulous talent. He’ll come back a lot stronger from it. He knows the things that he should’ve done,” said Peter.
At this point it’s debatable whether Peter will be able to turn Hughie into a good fighter or not. At 6’6”, Hughie has the size to be a major player in the heavyweight division, but his spoiling makes him hard to watch. Hughie isn’t going to beat the likes of Deontay Wilder or Anthony Joshua with the way he’ fighting right now. It would be a mistake for Peter Fury to let Hughie fight any of those guys right now. Hughie need to mature, gain some power, and a lot more experience before he starts facing the better heavyweights. The fight against Parker showed that Hughie is still way too green to be fighting the best in the heavyweight division. Hughie did show excellent defensive skills that he can build on from the Parker fight. But he needs to work on his power and his ability to stay in the pocket and fight.