Is “Gypsy King” Tyson Fury the Most Interesting Boxer?

By Boxing News - 08/02/2022 - Comments

By Ken Hissner: At 6:09 Tyson “The Gypsy King” Fury has fought for his life from the day he was born weighing one pound and two and a half months premature.  

“The doctors told me there was not much chance of him living, and I had lost two daughters in the same way that had been born prematurely,” said John Fury, his father. “They told me there was not much hope for him. It was 1988 and Mike Tyson was his favorite as world heavyweight champion, so I said “let’s call him Tyson!” The doctors just looked at him and smiled.

Fury is from a family of boxers including his father ‘Gypsy’ John Fury, brothers Young and Tommy, uncles Hugh Fury and Peter Fury, and cousins Phil and Hughie. The Furys are Irish Travelers.

Fury was 31-4 with 26 knockouts in the amateurs. He won his first minor title at age 18 in Germany in 2006. In 2007 he won the European Union Junior Championships Gold Medal in Warsaw, Poland.

Fury turned professional in 2008 and won his first seven fights by stoppage before defeating John McDermott, 25-5. He would then stop his next two opponents and in a rematch, with McDermott he would stop him in nine rounds. 

In 2011 Fury won his first titles in the British and Commonwealth defeating Derek “War” Chisora, 14-0, to improve to 15-0. Four stoppages would follow and then defeat Kevin Johnson, 28-2-1, from the US, over 12 rounds.

In Fury’s next fight in April of 2013, he made his US debut at Madison Square Garden against former IBF Cruiserweight world champion Steve “USS” Cunningham, 25-5. Fury was knocked down in the second round but came back to knockout Cunningham in the seventh round. I remember him putting his left forearm in front of Cunningham’s eyes and coming over the top with a right on the chin and down he went and it was all over at 2:55 of the seventh round. It was the only time in the career of Cunningham he lost by stoppage.

In November of 2014 in a rematch with Chisora, 20-4, for the European title he retired in into the tenth round. He next stopped Christian Hammer, 17-3, a Romanian, fighting out of Germany in a WBO International title defense in eight rounds in a title elimination bout.

This earned Fury a world title fight with IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO world champion Wladimir “Dr. Steelhammer” Klitschko, 64-3, by scores of 115-112 twice and 116-111 over 12 rounds in Germany in 2015 improving to 25-0. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNFO7eRkVbs

Fury would not fight again for thirty months due to mental issues and not return to the ring until June of 2018 stopping Sefer “The Real Deal” Seferi, 23-1, of Switzerland after four rounds. 

Two months later Fury stopped Italian-born fighting out of Germany Francesco Pianeta, 35-4-1, winning all ten rounds. This earned him his second chance at a world title against WBC World champion and Olympian Deontay “The Bronze Bomber” Wilder, 40-0, at the Staples Center, in California. Though knocked down in the ninth and twelfth rounds Fury managed to get through twelve rounds and earn a draw.

It would be over a year before Wilder would give Fury a rematch with both scoring a pair of stoppages. Fury did this back in the US over two unbeaten opponents Tom Schwarz, 24-0, from Germany and Otto Wallin, 20-0, of Sweden. 

This set up the rematch in February of 2020 with Wilder in Las Vegas, Nevada. After six rounds Fury was ahead on all score cards 58-53 and 59-52 twice stopping Wilder in the seventh round at 1:39.

It would be twenty months in October of 2021 before the third match between Fury and Wilder in Las Vegas and after ten rounds Fury was ahead 94-92, 95-92 and 95-91. In the eleventh round Wilder was taking a beating against the ropes when referee Russell Mora wisely waved it off.

In Fury’s next and most recent fight returning to the UK after four years he stopped the WBC Interim champion the UK’s Dillian “The Body Snatcher” Whyte, 28-2, in the sixth round ahead on all score cards after five rounds.

This improved Fury’s record to 32-0-1 with 23 knockouts. He announced he would be retiring after this fight in which few people including myself doubt. 

On the twentieth of this month WBA, WBO and IBF world champion Oleksandr Usyk, 19-0 with 13 knockouts is in a rematch with Anthony “AJ” Joshua, 24-2 with 22 knockouts. 

Fury in my opinion awaits the winner for all four titles in 2023. Is he the most interesting boxer today? Grabbing the microphone in the ring and singing is just one of the things Fury has done. He is good for boxer in my opinion, how about yours?  

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