Tyson Fury reminds me of Randall “Tex” Cobb for a reason that has little to do with championship belts. Both could make people laugh in a sport where the usual sales pitch involves threatening to knock somebody out.
With Fury preparing to face Anthony Joshua on December 11 at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium, there will be plenty of attention on what he has to say before the opening bell. His personality has long been part of the attraction.
Cobb had that same ability to hold an audience, although his humor often came at his own expense.
I remember watching him kick a heavy bag at Joe Frazier’s Broad Street gym in Philadelphia. He came from a kickboxing background, and seeing him at work offered a reminder that beneath the jokes was a tough, serious fighter.
His biggest boxing victory came in August 1980, when he stopped the feared Earnie Shavers in the eighth round. That win helped take Cobb toward a heavyweight title opportunity against Larry Holmes.
Holmes gave him a punishing beating over 15 rounds in November 1982. The bout helped prompt Howard Cosell to stop broadcasting professional boxing, rather than retire from broadcasting altogether. Cobb nevertheless found a way to turn his defeat into a punchline.
“Larry Holmes didn’t beat me. He just won the first fifteen rounds,” Cobb joked.
That line explains his appeal better than a list of opponents. Cobb could acknowledge a beating without asking anyone to feel sorry for him. His film and television work later gave that personality an audience beyond boxing.
Fury’s humor serves a different purpose. His teasing and boasting help sell fights and draw opponents into the conversation he wants to have. He has also achieved far more in the ring than Cobb, becoming heavyweight champion rather than remaining a contender.
Still, there are limits to what a personality can accomplish. Fury’s two defeats against Oleksandr Usyk cannot reasonably be blamed on his mouthing off. Usyk beat him through his work in the ring, where a clever remark offers no substitute for landing punches.
The connection between Cobb and Fury is their ability to give fans something to remember beyond a result. Cobb could lose badly and still leave people repeating his jokes. Fury can command attention long before he throws a punch.
Boxing needs skilled fighters, but its colorful characters give people another reason to follow them. Cobb understood that, and Fury has made it a large part of his career.