By and large I can't fault Fury's performances in terms of getting the W, but for me it's the fights he hasn't had. Ali lost a few but always backed his talk, whereas Fury didn't come good against the stiff idiot, or as yet the bodybuilder or blown-up middleweight.gregregegg wrote: ↑24 Apr 2022, 05:24 Fury is better than those fighters... But id he was lucky to get away with any of them, let alone all of them...
He'd probably have beaten Price, but didn't. He'd maybe have beaten AJ before Ruiz got to him, but again... And now I'm thinking he doesn't want this ‘blown-up middleweight’ because — as much as he might do a Cunningham on him — he seems afraid of being shown up. A smaller man with better skills he can't put away easily... That's encroaching on his best-boxer turf.
Price needed the fear factor he once held over Fury to stand a chance, and so its removal could be considered lucky. Had Fury fought him after Thompson he'd have stopped him in the first half. Joshua's physicality was and maybe still is a threat, but seeing two smaller men outbox him will have given Fury a huge confidence boost. Insofar as that favours him more than previously, it is fortunate.
If Joyce beats Parker, I don't think he'll be fancied, either. When that's a fantastically interesting matchup. Wlad knew he'd let himself down and Fury didn't take the rematch, leaving us the more determined version against AJ. At the end of his career, naturally. Wlad's second loss in a row stamped his end, when had he refused to fight anyone but Fury and waited, Fury would've had that question hanging over him. AJ did him a favour.
Wilder remains the opponent Fury derives the bulk of his credit for facing, but was someone who got outboxed on the regular until he landed his straight right. Against Fury he couldn't land his best shot, and that's Fury's finest hour in a lacklustre run (following Seferi and Pianeta). Their first fight is the only time I've felt Fury worthy of high praise; that was a champion's move. He totally backed himself like an all-timer's supposed to.
And talking of Ali, it really hit me yesterday (when mentioning names) how little heavyweight action we see now. Makhmudov looks dangerous for anyone, and why not throw Sanchez in with Anderson as a crossroads fight? Usyk-AJ and Joyce-Parker are the only decent announced fights, no? Yoka and Hrgovic should fight; Dubois needs to get back on the horse; Miller too, I guess; and where's Ruiz? Ain't no pie-eating contest.
I suspect Fury will retire undefeated, with a new heavyweight plenty of us would've fancied to beat him coming along in the next decade. But his fans won't have that, any more than my belief that Vitali would've broken him down and Lewis knocked him out (if all in their primes). He came along at a great time, and even benefitted from Whyte training at Danny Williams' Kipling camp. Beastmode, my arse!
But he's certainly incredibly hard to beat, and to give him credit for last night, his punch technique was noticeably sharper (I think that's actually the best I've seen him). It was Whyte throwing overhand tennis balls at him. If he's good enough to beat Usyk and AJ and Joyce, let's see it! Then he'll go down in everyone's book as the best of his generation, officially.
I don't dislike him as a person (and Paris, Shane and Hughie seem all right), but John and SugarHill are two of the biggest bellends in boxing right now, and I can't say I wouldn't like seeing them humbled. Or even just Tyson having a word to remind them he's the star, but he'll have nothing bad to say about this big-dog shite unless it comes back to bite him.