Tyson Fury: I’ve lost 56 lbs. in 8 weeks

By Boxing News - 01/23/2018 - Comments

Image: Tyson Fury: I’ve lost 56 lbs. in 8 weeks

By Marcus Richardson: Tyson Fury says he’s already lost 4 stone [56 pounds] in his first 8 weeks of training for his comeback, and he feels he’ll be ready to go by this April for his first fight back in 2 ½ years of minacity.

Fury (25-0, 18 KOs) has now been cleared by the British Boxing Board of Control and the UKAD to continue his career at heavyweight. Fury, 29, believes he’ll be able to recapture his lost heavyweight titles soon by beating IBF/WBA heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, who he says will be his easiest fight.

“Don’t get me wrong, I had a lot of weight to shift – and I still have – but I’ve lost four stone so it’s a good start. I’ve lost it in about eight weeks. I’m training twice a day, every day,” Fury said to BoxNation Podcast.

Fury’s trainer Ben Davidson posted a photo of Fury, and he does look remarkably thinner than he was 2 months ago. With there still being 3 months to go before April, it looks like Fury will have all the excess weight off by the time he resumes his career in that month. The only thing that you have to worry now is whether Fury’s stamina is still the same, and if he can take a punch. Close to 3 years of inactivity will make it tough on the 6’9” Fury to regain his former boxing skills. If Fury is unable to regain his conditioning and sharpness that he once had, he’s not going to go far in his comeback, as he’s not a big puncher. Almost anyone in the heavyweight division has more power than Fury. His whole game is based on him using his size to out-box his shorter opponents.

Fury wants to get a number of tune-ups out of the way before possibly meeting up with Joshua in the summer for a title shot. Joshua and his promoter Eddie Hearn both like that idea, as long as Fury looks sharp in his tune-up fights.

“Joshua will be my easiest fight, even easier than Wladimir Klitschko. Even after two and a half years out the ring,” said Fury. “Deep down, they know the Gypsy King will reign supreme again.”

Fury last fought in beating a confused looking Wladimir Klitschko in November 2015 in Dusseldorf, Germany. Wladimir looked like he wasn’t trained properly for the style that Fury brought to the ring on that night. Wladimir’s should have had him better prepared for Fury’s fighting style. In Wladimir’s fight against Joshua, he looked like he trained right for that opponent.

Tyson Fury said this on social media on Monday:

”Tyson2fastFury, believe the hype. The only lineal heavyweight champion of the world. There is not another heavyweight who can call thereself the champ until they beat me, @BronzeBomber @anthonyfjoshua @joeboxerparker @mrmanuelcharr.”

Fury has been pretty much forgotten by most boxing fans and fighters. He’s not recognized as the best heavyweight on the planet, as he maintains. Fury is still listed as Ring Magazine’s heavyweight champion, but other than that, he’s yesterday’s news just as Wladimir Klitschko is seen as part of the past of the heavyweight division. When fighters stop competing like Fury and Klitschko, they’re forgotten by boxing fans. The sport moves on, and Fury is now just a guy that is living off of memories of his past accomplishments in 2015. Fury is no longer relevant though in boxing at the heavyweight level. It’s up to Fury to show that he’s not an over-the-hill fighter, and that he can still compete at the highest levels of the division. Right now, there’s a big question mark floating over Fury’s head in terms of whether he’ll ever be able to regain the form that he had before. However, even if Fury can get back to the exact same level he was at in his fight against Klitschko in November 2015, which probably won’t be enough for him to beat the top heavyweights in the division. Wladimir didn’t throw punches in that fight. He gave the win to Fury by not fighting. The top heavyweights like Anthony Joshua, Deontay Wilder, Luis Ortiz and Joseph Parker all will throw punches at Fury, and they’ll have a good chance of knocking him out or at least outpointing him.

“I was at the top of the tree, number one on the planet,” said Fury. It had to be more than that for me. I wanted to be the most controversial, charismatic, outspoken Champion. I do believe I achieved that. I’ve been proving people wrong my whole life,” Fury said.

Fury will need to show the boxing fans that he’s still got it. There aren’t too many fans that believe Fury capable of coming back fully to beat Joshua or Wilder. Fury wants to prove people wrong, but he’s got his work cut out for him. It’s going to be hard for Fury to come back because he’s been out for so long, and the heavyweight division has gotten a lot better during his time away from the sport. Fury would be smart to take things slowly with his comeback and wait until 2019 before he takes on Joshua and the other top heavyweights. Fury should use 2018 to get back his conditioning and boxing skills before he goes after Joshua. It all depends on what Fury wants to achieve with his comeback. If he’s looking to just get a big payday, then he should fight Joshua in the summer like he planned.