Promoter Frank Warren says Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk are “two of the best heavyweights in the 21st century”.
Manufactured Legacy
That’s hard to believe, though, as Fury (34-2-1, 24 KOs) doesn’t have the resume to back up that claim. Indeed, the eye test shows that he isn’t even among the top five current heavyweights in the division.
Tyson was just an overrated, carefully packaged hype job. If you look at Fury’s resume, there is nothing to suggest that he is even in the top 20 heavyweights of this century. Throw him in with some of the talented competitors of this era or past, and he’ll be torn apart.
If you look back at the beginning of the 21st century, many heavyweights would have beaten Fury if he fought them from 2001 to 2012. This century began in 2001.
Heavyweights of the 21st century:
– Vitaliy Klitschko
– Lennox Lewis
– Wladimir Klitschko: *young version from 2001 to 2009
– Corrie Sanders
– Shannon Briggs
– Martin Bakole
– Moises Itauma
– Joseph Parker
– Zhilei Zhang
– Anthony Joshua
– Bahodir Jalolov
– Daniel Dubois
– Jared Anderson
Fury would lose to most if not all of those heavyweights. You can only imagine what a South African southerner Corrie Sanders he would do Furia with those left hands. The version of Sanders who knocked out Wladimir in the second round in 2003 would make Fury’s job easier. He would leave the gypsy king on the canvas in a pile of broken flesh.
A shallow winning list
The Gypsy King’s career really came from beating a washed-up 39-year-old Wladimir in 2015, and it wasn’t even an impressive performance. He barely beat the fiery, fired-up Klitschko. From there, Fury made a gold mine, thanks to careful linking.
Fury’s best wins:
Wladimir Klitschko: *39 and over the hill
Deontay Wilder
Dillion Whyte: *journeyman
Dereck Chisora: *Same as above
Otto Wallin
Francis Ngannou: *0-0 rookie
Steve Cunningham: *cruiser
Christian Hammer: Fringe contender
Kevin Johnson: *journeyman
“He’s one of the greats, and certainly he and Usyk are the two best heavyweights in the 21st century, that’s for sure,” Frank Warren told Sky Sports Boxing about Tyson Fury. “Look at the great fights they had. Those two fights, they were both incredible. Regardless of who won, these were incredible fights.
“It takes two fighters to make great fights. Tyson is up there with all the big names you can name. He did everything you could ask of him. He’s never been on a boring flight. All those fights you refer to were classic, dramatic fights. The drama in these fights is incredible,” Warren said, sounding like he was a little over the top in his praise of Fury.
“One of the greats!” 🙌 Frank Warren has his opinion on Tyson Fury’s retirement announcement 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/WHGzAAr3KC
— Sky Sports Boxing (@SkySportsBoxing) January 13, 2025
