I’ve always loved boxing.
From the day my father taught me how to throw a proper jab and left hook, to my stepping in the ring with the New York State Golden Glove Champ, to my working as a news reporter for FightNews.com, to today where I still train in my garage, I am still fascinated by what many of us lovingly call, “The Gentleman’s Sport.”
Sure, I respect Mixed Martial Arts, but for me, it’s all about the art of boxing. Fists only.
Of course, my favorite boxer of all time is Mohamed Ali, and the cadre of boxers that reigned during that time.
But there is one boxer today, a heavyweight, whom I most respect and in awe of.
His name is Tyson Fury, a 6-foot seven-inch Goliath who has rolled over every fighter that ever had the misfortune of stepping into the ring with him.
His critics say he is too fat, too slow, too out of shape to be considered a serious heavyweight champion.
Yet, he continues kicking ass and emulsifying every opponent, no matter how chiseled or muscular they are, with impunity and scorn.
Boxing is a science and Fury is the Albert Einstein of boxing.
Watching him fight is like watching a master painter painting, each stroke administered with passion and purpose.
To the untrained eye he appears to be slow and just a bruiser with little boxing skills. But watching him defend himself, strike and parry, is a treat for those who can see.
Look closely and you will note that he never, ever takes his eyes off his opponent’s. No matter how he ducks or blocks, his eyes are always locked into those of his foe, observant and cognicent of everything being thrown at him.
While other fighters might cast their eyes this way or that way while attacking or dodging, Tyson stays in focus rarely losing sight of his opponent’s attack.
And he doesn’t just block with his arms. His shoulder work is amazing. He could survive a barrage of blows using his shoulders alone to glance them off.
And when under heavy attack, he is an expert in tying his opponent up. They come, throw their punches, and he smothers them with his heavy body. While they are struggling to free themselves, he is simply resting.
He waits for them to tire or the ref to un-clinch them and he fires a deadly combo his opponent is unable to stop.
And notice the look on his face when he comes in for an attack. Pure anger, pure savagery. Like he is so totally enjoying smashing his opponent in the face.
He delivers each and every punch with precision and emotional content.
Here’s another thing. Critics say he showed signs of slowing down when he fought Derek Chisora and that means he will finally get his ass kicked, when he meets the formidable heavyweight champion, Oleksandr Usyk.
Get this straight, when Fury fights, he never fights harder than he has to. Watching the Chisora fight you can see Fury was actually enjoying himself, using Chisora as a punching bag.
Look closely at Fury’s scowl when he knocked out Deontay Wilder in their third fight. It was truly a “Grrrr” moment as he landed the combination that put Wilder to sleep. Watch the slow-motion replay. You’ll get what I mean.
And observe the weight and power the 278-pound Fury puts into his punches. Left or right. True bell ringers for sure.
In regard to his flabby appearance, you can be sure there is honed muscle underneath the girth.
While muscular mesomorphic fighters use tons of energy trying to feed all those bulging muscles, Fury simply burns fat.
He is a chameleon when to comes to style. When his opponent is aggressive, he leans back, takes the punches, smothers him and counter punches. If his opponent is tired, he dances and penetrates with jabs and powerhouse hooks.
He is poised. Never out of control, can take a punch and gets right back up as demonstrated in his last Wilder fight when he got nailed.
Usyk, a lefty that drops his right hand way to much, will find that Fury, who can switch at will, will smother him just as easily he smothers every opponent who steps in to ring with him.
My prediction for his upcoming fight with the tiny-by-comparison Oleksandr Usyk?
Usyk gets knocked out. Fury unifies all the belts, WBA (Super), IBF, and WBO with his current WBC title. Fury retires.