By James Oliver: After reading a good article the other day analyzing the fantastic British heavyweight scene at the moment I thought I would provide a deeper analysis of one of the main British heavyweight prospects; Tyson Fury.
Fury, 22, who is currently 11-0 (9 KO’s) is quite possibly the most hyped prospect of any division in British boxing despite some less than convincing victories and the general boxing public being split on his ability to make a name for himself on the world stage. Whilst his amateur credentials, knockout record and tough matchmaking in his first 11 victories may suggest the foundations of a future world champion, many people are less than convinced by the brash Mancunian.
After becoming an ABA super-heavyweight champion in 2008, possibly due to the absence of David Price to the Olympic squad, Fury had his first professional fight on December the 6th of that year against Bela Gyongyosi of Hungary. Since his first round demolition of Gyongyosi on the undercard of the Carl Froch vs Jean Pascal fight, Fury has racked up victories over a variety of relatively tough European journeymen including Marcel Zeller and Daniil Peretyatko (Fury was the only current British heavyweight prospect to stop Peretyatko), as well as decent British fighters such as Lee Swaby and Scott Belshaw. Fury’s toughest two fights to date by far have been his hard fought victories over seasoned professional ‘Big Bad’ John McDermott, both for the lightly-regarded BBB of C English heavyweight title. Having finished 9 of his first 11 opponents inside the distance one could conclude that Fury is the more likely of the current British heavyweight prospects to make an impact on the stagnant world heavyweight scene.
This being said however, Fury has been at the receiving end of harsh criticism not only from boxing commentators and the wider boxing public, but also from members of the Manchester boxing scene. Many people believe that his bluntness of opinion in regards to some of his opposition as well as a high opinion of himself is often disrespectful and deluded. In terms of Fury’s rhetorical style we could compare him to Carl Froch. I believe that both fighters feel the need to not only sell the fight to the fans but also sell themselves as fighters. This has never been a problem for natural orators with a high level of talent such as Roy Jones Jnr or Floyd Mayweather Jnr, however Fury, like Froch, seems uneasy in his wording. Both fighters have huge holes in their boxing ability which, when combined with a high opinion of themselves, often draws critics.
In terms of boxing I believe that fury has good basic skills having been taught his trade mainly by Jimmy Egans Boxing Academy of Manchester. Fury also has god given natural gifts such as his height, reach and speed which provide him with a much easier route to success. Whilst Fury has power, we should not jump too quickly to conclusions over this as many of his knockouts have come through well placed shots to the body and referee count-outs in which the other fighter did not seem overly hurt. I do not believe Fury has concussive natural power in the same way as someone like Larry Olubamiwo. This is not to say that Fury cannot hone his natural skills to produce one punch knockout power. After all we have seen the development of fighters such as Nathan Cleverly under new trainer Vince Cleverly and just how much more power can be honed with a different input into a fighter’s technique. The ideal trainer for Fury would be someone like Emmanuel Steward who is experienced in helping taller fighters fully develop their natural reach abilities (Just think how he helped the stalled career of Wladimir Klitschko). It is up to Fury to decide which direction his boxing career goes but I believe he has the natural boxing ability to make a great heavyweight provided his talent is nurtured by a decent coach who knows how to get the best out of his protégé.
Finally, many people doubt Fury’s willingness to ‘train like a champion’ due to factors such as the fluctuation of his weight (Anywhere between 247lbs and 270lbs!), his over-reliance on natural abilities and particularly the build up to his last fight with John McDermott. Logic should dictate that Fury, who was coming off one of the worst decisions this writer has ever seen two fights previously, would prepare himself even more for his rematch and enter the ring with a full fight plan as well as being highly conditioned. In reality however Fury weighed in at a career high of 270lbs and seemed determined to gain the early stoppage, much in the same manner as his first fight. After their first meeting Fury should have anticipated that he may not have the power to knock McDermott out and so would train for a 12 round fight as a backup plan. Fury’s lack of a decent game plan nearly cost him the fight and it was only through coincidence that McDermott gassed at a similar stage and wound up hitting the canvass. If Fury had been in the ring with a fighter of higher stamina I am sure he would have been dealt his first career loss.
To conclude, I am a huge Tyson Fury fan and have followed his career not just in the professional ranks but also in the amateur division and so I hope he can go as far as he would like. His natural ability will hopefully be the dominating factor in his career, especially if he should eventually set up camp with a well educated and proficient trainer. I would like to see Fury, as well as his management, scared in a similar way to how they where after Tyson’s first encounter with McDermott. I have no desire to see the man beat, I only hope it will kick start his determination to train even harder and dedicate his life to attaining the top individual prize in sport, the world heavyweight crown. I would like to think that all of Manchester hopes Fury makes this his ultimate goal because if he does, he may end up becoming unstoppable.
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