What was the main reason Tyson Fury was able to beat Wladimir Klitschko?

[Freedom2013]

Was it primarily due to Fury's superior boxing ability or Klitschko's age?

I've watched all his fights several times, and his handspeed is not nearly as fast now as it was several years ago. For example, 2000 Chris Byrd had better movement than Fury, but Wlad was able to land.

[SNG]

I don't see how Klitschko's age comes into it. Tyson didn't fight at a pace that would trouble Wlad, or use a game plan that took his age into concern. Look at the punch stats, Wlad was made to be apprehensive by Fury. I don't remember the round but there was a point where Wlad threw the right and stopped it short and withdrew it, he was simply unsure of himself, and that isn't age, Fury did that by standing off and making Wlad be the one to initiate.

I'm not picking either of those choices.

[Freedom]

Fury was nothing special in that fight, Klitschko beat himself.

[Boxing Writer]

Being close to 40 y.o., having 67 pro fights, 3 hard losses (not just one-punch KO losses like Lewis - Wlad got tremendous beating for 3-5 minutes against Puritty, Sanders and Brewtser), and 19-year career. Yeah, he should be in his prime. Was Lennox still fighting at 39? No, he had fought his last fight at 37 and looked past his prime too, even though he had much shorter career (14 years) and 23 less fights than Wlad.

I think Wlad is totally shot now and he looked past his prime since beating Mariusz Wach. His fight with Pianeta was the first one where I noticed the accuracy of his right hand wasn't there anymore. He missed more right hands against Pianeta than he did against much better, much more skilled southpaws - Chris Byrd, Ruslan Chagaev and Tony Thompson. Then there was Povetkin fight, where Wlad looked bad too. Yes, he beat Povetkin easily with his jab, occasional left hooks (and tons of clinches of course), but he just couldn't land his streight right hand at all - he missed some puches in that fight that made me think he was already well past his prime. His right hand accuracy was completely off. Leapai fight didn't say much, cause Leapai is so slow, predictable and his defense is so bad, that even 70 y.o. Wlad would have had no problems landing punches at him.

Year ago before his fight with Kubrat Pulev I wrote here that Pulev will give Wlad his toughest fight in 9+ years. I was wrong, but I still think if Pulev had chosen right tactics, he would give Wlad tons of problems with his jab and movement. But instead of using his advantages Pulev went for the kill and got knocked down 3 times and brutally KO'ed - all 4 times he went to the deck after Wlad's left hook. Even in that fight Wlad's right hand wasn't effective - he landed only one good right hand in the 3rd round. Then there was a fight with Jennings where Wald's right hand was almost non-existent. And Jennings looked much faster than Wald.

Wlad’s handspeed and accuracy are completely gone. He reminds me Holyfield and Mosley in the latter parts of their respective career. He sees everything, but just can’t pull the trigger.

BUT! Saying that, Fury should get huge props for this win, even though Wlad is shot. Why? Because he did what others guys couldn’t do. It’s not like Wlad became old overnight, he was getting worse and worse since 2012, but others guys, even top-contenders like Povetkin and Pulev didn’t even come close to dethroning him. Fury fought very smart and disciplined fight, and I think even prime Wald would have a lot of problems against this in-shape, disciplined version of Tyson Fury.

[Freedom2013]

Being close to 40 y.o., having 67 pro fights, 3 hard losses (not just one-punch KO losses like Lewis - Wlad got tremendous beating for 3-5 minutes against Puritty, Sanders and Brewtser), and 19-year career. Yeah, he should be in his prime. Was Lennox still fighting at 39? No, he had fought his last fight at 37 and looked past his prime too, even though he had much shorter career (14 years) and 23 less fights than Wlad.

I think Wlad is totally shot now and he looked past his prime since beating Mariusz Wach. His fight with Pianeta was the first one where I noticed the accuracy of his right hand wasn't there anymore. He missed more right hands against Pianeta than he did against much better, much more skilled southpaws - Chris Byrd, Ruslan Chagaev and Tony Thompson. Then there was Povetkin fight, where Wlad looked bad too. Yes, he beat Povetkin easily, but he just couldn't land right hand - he missed some puches in that fight that made me think he was already well past his prime. His right hand accuracy was completely off. Leapai fight doesn't say much, cause Leapai is so slow, predictable and his defense is so bad, that even 70 y.o. Wlad would have had no problems landing punches at him.

Year ago before his fight with Kubrat Pulev I wrote here that Pulev will give Wlad his toughest fight in 9+ years. I was wrong, but I still think if Pulev had chosen right tactics, he would give Wlad a lot of problems with his jab and movement. But he went for the kill and got knocked down 3 times and brutally KO'ed - all 4 times he went to the deck after Wlad's left hook. Even in that fight Wlad's right hand wasn't effective - he landed only one good right hand in the 3rd round. Then there was a fight with Jennings where Wald's right hand was almost non-existent. And Jennings looked much faster than Wald.

Wlad’s handspeed and accuracy are completely gone. He reminds me Holyfield and Mosley in the latter parts of their respective career. He sees everything, but just can’t pull the trigger.

BUT! Saying that, Fury should get huge props for this win, even though Wlad is shot. Why? Because he did what others guys couldn’t do. It’s not like Wlad became old overnight, he was getting worse and worse since 2012, but others guys, even top-contenders like Povetkin and Pulev didn’t even come close to dethroning him. Fury fought very smart and disciplined fight, and I think even prime Wlad would have a lot of problems against this in-shape, disciplined version of Tyson Fury.

Excellent post.

[LGilsenan]

I don't see how Klitschko's age comes into it. Tyson didn't fight at a pace that would trouble Wlad, or use a game plan that took his age into concern. Look at the punch stats, Wlad was made to be apprehensive by Fury. I don't remember the round but there was a point where Wlad threw the right and stopped it short and withdrew it, he was simply unsure of himself, and that isn't age, Fury did that by standing off and making Wlad be the one to initiate.

I'm not picking either of those choices.

[crusader]

Being close to 40 y.o., having 67 pro fights, 3 hard losses (not just one-punch KO losses like Lewis - Wlad got tremendous beating for 3-5 minutes against Puritty, Sanders and Brewtser), and 19-year career. Yeah, he should be in his prime. Was Lennox still fighting at 39? No, he had fought his last fight at 37 and looked past his prime too, even though he had much shorter career (14 years) and 23 less fights than Wlad.

I think Wlad is totally shot now and he looked past his prime since beating Mariusz Wach. His fight with Pianeta was the first one where I noticed the accuracy of his right hand wasn't there anymore. He missed more right hands against Pianeta than he did against much better, much more skilled southpaws - Chris Byrd, Ruslan Chagaev and Tony Thompson. Then there was Povetkin fight, where Wlad looked bad too. Yes, he beat Povetkin easily with his jab, occasional left hooks (and tons of clinches of course), but he just couldn't land his streight right hand at all - he missed some puches in that fight that made me think he was already well past his prime. His right hand accuracy was completely off. Leapai fight didn't say much, cause Leapai is so slow, predictable and his defense is so bad, that even 70 y.o. Wlad would have had no problems landing punches at him.

Year ago before his fight with Kubrat Pulev I wrote here that Pulev will give Wlad his toughest fight in 9+ years. I was wrong, but I still think if Pulev had chosen right tactics, he would give Wlad tons of problems with his jab and movement. But instead of using his advantages Pulev went for the kill and got knocked down 3 times and brutally KO'ed - all 4 times he went to the deck after Wlad's left hook. Even in that fight Wlad's right hand wasn't effective - he landed only one good right hand in the 3rd round. Then there was a fight with Jennings where Wald's right hand was almost non-existent. And Jennings looked much faster than Wald.

Wlad’s handspeed and accuracy are completely gone. He reminds me Holyfield and Mosley in the latter parts of their respective career. He sees everything, but just can’t pull the trigger.

BUT! Saying that, Fury should get huge props for this win, even though Wlad is shot. Why? Because he did what others guys couldn’t do. It’s not like Wlad became old overnight, he was getting worse and worse since 2012, but others guys, even top-contenders like Povetkin and Pulev didn’t even come close to dethroning him. Fury fought very smart and disciplined fight, and I think even prime Wald would have a lot of problems against this in-shape, disciplined version of Tyson Fury.

[Lackeos]

Fury has superior height, superior reach, good hand speed, good movement, and the talent of a top divisional fighter. Wlad is not an expert at overcoming this particular styles clash -- he is not a skilled swarmer and most boxers have difficulty venturing outside of their style. There are very few boxers in boxing's entire history that could have presented Wlad with the same puzzle that Fury did. Valuev was bigger and rangier, but his speed was a fraction of Fury's. Price is bigger and rangier, but he's a weak b*tch. Primo Carnera was shorter than Wlad and truly lacked skill. Lennox and Vitali closely equal Wlad's size, and might be able to beat him, but they don't have the significant size advantage to just shut him out in the same fashion that Fury did.

So I have to conclude that any version of Wlad can't beat the stylistic puzzle that Fury offers.

[zorndeslammes]

The lazy pick for me would be the first, but that would ignore Wladimir's style of fighting back in the day when he would batter big guys like Jameel McCline and Derrick Jefferson. Neither answer is honestly appropriate.

[gregor]

Styles make fights.

Obviously, no one can expect 40 years old boxer to be in his prime, but IMO this was not the issue.

Wlad style was based on utilizing his size and reach advantage. He was completely dominating shorter opponents (Byrd, Chagaev, Povetkin - all good boxers, but I am not sure if they won 3 rounds against Wlad combined). Without that, Wlad looked much worse (McCline, Thompson I, Sanders) but usually still kept winning. I guess he just got so used to his style he was unable to adapt when he finally faced opponent higher than himself.

[badkatt]

a bit of both but the biggest reason was furys feints and constant ring movement and herky jerky movements that just threw wlad off all nite long and the same thing will happen in a rematch and wlad gets stopped next time = in fact put last nites fury against 2011 wlad and fury wins on style = styles make fights = you cant tell me wlads legs were gone at age 39 = and he didnt throw punches not cause of his age but due to furys herky jerky headmovement

[Boxerbeetle]

Being close to 40 y.o., having 67 pro fights, 3 hard losses (not just one-punch KO losses like Lewis - Wlad got tremendous beating for 3-5 minutes against Puritty, Sanders and Brewtser), and 19-year career. Yeah, he should be in his prime. Was Lennox still fighting at 39? No, he had fought his last fight at 37 and looked past his prime too, even though he had much shorter career (14 years) and 23 less fights than Wlad.

I think Wlad is totally shot now and he looked past his prime since beating Mariusz Wach. His fight with Pianeta was the first one where I noticed the accuracy of his right hand wasn't there anymore. He missed more right hands against Pianeta than he did against much better, much more skilled southpaws - Chris Byrd, Ruslan Chagaev and Tony Thompson. Then there was Povetkin fight, where Wlad looked bad too. Yes, he beat Povetkin easily with his jab, occasional left hooks (and tons of clinches of course), but he just couldn't land his streight right hand at all - he missed some puches in that fight that made me think he was already well past his prime. His right hand accuracy was completely off. Leapai fight didn't say much, cause Leapai is so slow, predictable and his defense is so bad, that even 70 y.o. Wlad would have had no problems landing punches at him.

Year ago before his fight with Kubrat Pulev I wrote here that Pulev will give Wlad his toughest fight in 9+ years. I was wrong, but I still think if Pulev had chosen right tactics, he would give Wlad tons of problems with his jab and movement. But instead of using his advantages Pulev went for the kill and got knocked down 3 times and brutally KO'ed - all 4 times he went to the deck after Wlad's left hook. Even in that fight Wlad's right hand wasn't effective - he landed only one good right hand in the 3rd round. Then there was a fight with Jennings where Wald's right hand was almost non-existent. And Jennings looked much faster than Wald.

Wlad’s handspeed and accuracy are completely gone. He reminds me Holyfield and Mosley in the latter parts of their respective career. He sees everything, but just can’t pull the trigger.

BUT! Saying that, Fury should get huge props for this win, even though Wlad is shot. Why? Because he did what others guys couldn’t do. It’s not like Wlad became old overnight, he was getting worse and worse since 2012, but others guys, even top-contenders like Povetkin and Pulev didn’t even come close to dethroning him. Fury fought very smart and disciplined fight, and I think even prime Wald would have a lot of problems against this in-shape, disciplined version of Tyson Fury.

Spot on

[cultus]

Problem was that Wlad was headhunting and the head of Fury kept moving. He couldn't find the target. He never even tryed to go to the body.
Wlad was acting like an amateur. I'm puzzled.

[Batley18]

I think the answer really was in the stats, Klitschko didn't throw anywhere near enough punches. As others have said, Fury didn't just stand in front of him, he moved his head well and was difficult to hit at times. I am not sure if Wlad had been hurt by a punch early on, but he seemed very reluctant to throw that right hand, the one that has secured so many KOs for him in the past. Perhaps the issue with the gloves and then the ring also knocked him off his stride.

Credit should go to Fury for having a game plan and sticking to it. He didn't get drawn in much, and looked in control.

[Freedom2013]

Let's not forget how quickly he took out tall Ray Austin.

Wlad just doesn't move as quickly as he used to.

[Ricky_]

being 'too terrified to throw a punch and not having any heart' would be my option if that as on the poll, instead of the loaded question you put.

[Taansend]

Where's the Jesus option?

On a more serious note I think it's a combination of the two. Maybe Fury would have beaten any version of Wlad or maybe it's right place right time.

It did show that Wlad has been able to dominate because of his size though. As soon as he met a decent fighter his own size he didn't look much at all.

[Tony1244]

I didn't answer either. I don't know, that's my answer.

[campfire]

When you hit 40 year's of age was the number 1 reason Fury looks terrible :P

[gilgamesh]

Did none of you guys watch the damn thing? The main reason he beat Wladimir is because Wladimir didn't fight. End of story.

[Badhusker]

Sorry, but can't stand reading some of the garbage and multiple threads about fury vs Wlad. I have responded to a few, but think this is it for me.

Fury beat Wlad because he had a good game plan with his feints, which made Wlad hesitant due to Fury's height. It was a funny display to watch, with Fury flopping his arms up and down, but effective. Fury exposed Wlad as being one dimensional. Wlad can't fight inside, can't body punch, and was badly exposed in those regards. To keep hugging when behind is beyond retarded. I give credit to Wlad for his run, but to me it is a bit artificial due to the weak, weak, competition. Fury deserved to win, but it was UGLY!

Ali was a head hunter, but had the footwork and varied his shots to go with it. He also was a master at avoiding shots, and an under-rated counter puncher. Wlad was the best at what he did, but was fortunate to have opponents to be able to look good with what he did. Good jab, good right hand behind the jab, and hug in between. If it wasn't the end of his career, I would fire his trainer. If you can't motivate your fighter any better than that, you need to be fired. Maybe Wlad was too old, I don't know, but it was pathetic to watch.

[Undefeated49-0]

You left one out on your survey; Klits wasn't able to hug him all night like he's done with his previous 35 opponents.

[man]

wlad has always been a tremendous athlete, but
never very fast. his skill is power, not speed. he
looked as bad against fury as he looked against
david haye, with the only difference that haye
was way smaller and thus couldn't reach wlad.
i think wlad didn't age overnight and i do not
buy into the idea he had such a hard career. his
losses were not devastating either health wise.
i mean ali-frazier was a killer, but wlad's were
not IMHO.

he looked very good as of recent against pulev
and i do not think he is much worse now. so i
think it is a combination of things, but fury,
a fearless fighter with speed and size would
have always troubled him. reality is that wlad
was totally outclassed. that hardly ever happens
to a great champ that ages.

yet maybe it turns out that fury is much better
than most of us, including me, believe he is.

[Tanzio]

I don't see how Klitschko's age comes into it. Tyson didn't fight at a pace that would trouble Wlad, or use a game plan that took his age into concern. Look at the punch stats, Wlad was made to be apprehensive by Fury. I don't remember the round but there was a point where Wlad threw the right and stopped it short and withdrew it, he was simply unsure of himself, and that isn't age, Fury did that by standing off and making Wlad be the one to initiate.

I'm not picking either of those choices.

Actually, that is exactly what happens when you cannot pull the trigger any longer. The comparison to SSM v FMJ was accurate. You lose a percentage of your reflexes as you age which will generally lead to second guessing yourself. Combine that with WKlit's keen awareness of his chin issues and you have the ingredients that Fury successfully cooked the W with.

Age had a lot to do with the outcome.

[jujigatame]

Honestly I don't know. Ever since he died of exhaustion after 5 rounds with Brewster, Wlad has always had an incredibly low workrate. It's possible Fury could still have outworked the 2010 version of Wlad and won on the cards. That said, there's no way age doesn't play a part. Every athlete starts declining in their 30s, and that decline gets more rapid as the years go by.