https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVREqGRdXJQ
By John Stevens: 21st February sees Hughie fury stepping up a fair bit in class as he faces the Russian Andriy Rudenko in what promises to be quite an interesting fight
According to boxing rec Rudenko is rated number 77 and Fury ranked 109 – in-between them are names like Oliver McCall, Sam peter and, amazingly, the seemingly indestructible Sherman Williams. I’m not sure exactly how boxing rec rates its fighters but I don’t think we can take too much on board from it (especially seeing as there are some very dubious names ranked higher than Rudenko) but still, reading between the lines, this is definitely a step up for Fury and it’ll be interesting to see where it goes.
My feelings for Hughie are more or less the same as they were when I first saw his cousin Tyson, (and im not too proud to admit that Tyson has proven me wrong with his achievements thus far) 2 things have happened recently to make me think that there could more to him than meets the eye.
Firstly he recently defeated Danny Hughes over 8 rounds. For those of you who do not know Hughes – he is a domestic heavyweight who hasn’t achieved much thus far, but he is quite a handful and can bang a bit. I was convinced that he would be too much for Fury but Hughie surprised me by getting the decision over him.
The second was when I watched some sparring sessions he has been having with Eddie Chambers and Steve Cunningham. I could hardly believe that this was the same guy I watched in his first half or dozen so pro fights. In those sparring sessions he looked very sharp, very mobile and with no small amount of skill. Now, sparring of course is one thing and fighting is another – but this is Chambers and Cunningham we’re talking about here and they are both high-class operators. To hold his own with them in such style talks volumes for his own capabilities – and at 20 years old remember, he’s still a baby in boxing terms. If he can continue improving and building confidence, then who knows where he can go?
As for Rudenko – he has been knocking people out in some style throughout his career and was 24 and 0 with 16 knockouts going into his fight with Lucas Browne last year. With no real names on his resume the Browne fight was a massive step up in opposition for him. However he took Browne the distance and put up a pretty impressive performance whilst doing so – to the point where some ringsiders thought that he deserved the nod.
Lucas Browne is busy building his own rep of course and has looked pretty good doing it thus far. His own achievements have created a buzz around him and at 6’4 and 19 stone this is an imposing figure here. Time will tell of course just how far he can go in the division but he does look very solid with a big punch and will surely be stepping up in class himself very soon to take on some of the bigger fish out there. But this fight with Rudenko was a significant one and it tells us one of two things. Its tell us that a) Rudenko himself is a very handy prospect or b) that he is basically an ordinary heavyweight and Browne himself was exposed.
Myself I lean toward a) being the answer with maybe a slight hint of b) as I don’t feel that Lucas, with all due respect to him, will ever be quite dominant enough to win a title. I do however, feel that he will be a pretty tough opponent who will be thereabouts in the mix in the next few years to come. Thus, if my supposition is true, then it figures that Rudenko himself, whilst not being a potential world-beater, is also a pretty rough customer who deserves no small amount of respect.
Whatever way you look at it or break it down it does look like a hard nights work for young Hughie and I feel it is quite a bold move on his managements part to take this fight so early in his career – they obviously feel he is ready. I will be a very interested spectator and I wish him all the best.
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