By Peter Silkov
The word ‘upset’ is one that is overused today, along with ‘champion’ and ‘great’, but last night Tyson Fury (25-0, 18koes) certainly performed a genuine, real deal upset, by separating Wladimir Kitsch (64-4, 53koes) from the World heavyweight crown, which he has called his own for over nine and a half years. In doing so, Fury also snapped Dr Steelhammer’s 11 and a half year unbeaten streak. Looked at in the cold light of day, this was a magnificent victory for Fury. Few outside his loyal circle of family and friends gave him a chance of beating Klitschko. After all, despite being nearly 40 years old, this wasn’t a champion who was showing signs of deterioration in his recent fights. If anything, the super-fit Klitschko has been enjoying the best form of his career in recent years.
The fight itself was not a physical thriller, such as the Ali vs Frazier or Holyfield vs Bowe classic wars, it was a technical chess match, a duel of jabs and feints. The fact that Tyson won this way makes his performance even more noteworthy. Had he knocked out Klitschko, then the early defeats of Dr. Steelhammer would be pointed to, and it could be said that Klitschko was never the most durable of champions. But, those defeats are a long way away now and with the help of his former trainer, the late Emanuel Steward, Wladimir has long since devised a style that makes him extremely hard to hit cleanly, let alone knock out.
Yet, Fury was able to beat him at his own game, he out-boxed the boxer, out-counter punched the counter puncher. But perhaps even more importantly, Tyson seems to have won the mind games with Klitschko, both in and out of the ring. During the fight it was Klitschko who seemed to be the overly cautious, nervy fighter, while Fury seemed to grow in confidence the further that the fight went.
It wasn’t always pleasant to the eye, but Fury’s fight strategy was picture perfect. Fury’s whole team deserves a lot of credit for how they have guided him to the world title, and how they stood up for him in the final run up to the fight. We had glove gate, when Klitschko tried to force Tyson to wear gloves that weren’t suitable for him, then we had foam gate, when the ring was found to have an extremely spongy canvas, due to 3 layers of foam, which was finally removed after protests from team Fury. Finally, less than hours before the fight was due to start, we had the slightly more sinister hand wrap gate, when it was discovered that Klitschko’s hands had been wrapped without supervision from a member of the Fury team. Again there were forceful protests, and Tyson’s Father, John Fury, threatened to pull his son out of the fight, until the wraps were removed, and replaced while under supervision. The job that Tyson’s team has done in making sure that he got a fair deal cannot be underestimated.
Fury remains a polarising figure. In the wake of his victory last night, there are many today with egg on their faces. The reaction of these people in the coming days will be to jump belatedly onto the Fury bandwagon, or else dismiss his victory yesterday with the kind of negative comments that have already started to appear in some areas of the social media.
The truth is, it is very hard to find negative outcomes emerging from Fury’s victory over Wladimir. Whatever you may think of him as a person, there is no denying that he is a breath of fresh air at the top of the division that has become staid and predictable under the reign of Wlad, and his now retired brother Vitali. The division has been crying out for new blood, and a champion who has the personality to reach beyond the confines of the sport. In Tyson Fury, boxing finally has a personality that can invigorate the division, and inspire interest in the sport itself. Tyson’s whole story is inspirational, from being born 2 months prematurely and weighing a mere one pound, to winning the Heavyweight championship of the world.
Fury has won the world title at the perfect time, with possible fights looming with the likes of Anthony Joshua, Deontay Wilder, and the possible comeback of David Haye. The future of heavyweight boxing is suddenly looking far from boring, especially in England. Firstly, Tyson is likely to make his first defence against the deposed Wladimir Klitschko, in what is likely to be the biggest heavyweight fight in many years. The rematch is also likely to be more dramatic than the first fight, now that Klitschko knows that he can be out-boxed by Fury. Klitschko will have to change his approach in any rematch or else he will be simply out-boxed again.
The new blood has already got the heavyweight division flowing again.
The Boxing Glove, Inc. Peter Silkov Art. All Rights Reserved. Peter Silkov contributes to www.theboxingglove.com
The fight itself was not a physical thriller, such as the Ali vs Frazier or Holyfield vs Bowe classic wars, it was a technical chess match, a duel of jabs and feints. The fact that Tyson won this way makes his performance even more noteworthy. Had he knocked out Klitschko, then the early defeats of Dr. Steelhammer would be pointed to, and it could be said that Klitschko was never the most durable of champions. But, those defeats are a long way away now and with the help of his former trainer, the late Emanuel Steward, Wladimir has long since devised a style that makes him extremely hard to hit cleanly, let alone knock out.
Yet, Fury was able to beat him at his own game, he out-boxed the boxer, out-counter punched the counter puncher. But perhaps even more importantly, Tyson seems to have won the mind games with Klitschko, both in and out of the ring. During the fight it was Klitschko who seemed to be the overly cautious, nervy fighter, while Fury seemed to grow in confidence the further that the fight went.
It wasn’t always pleasant to the eye, but Fury’s fight strategy was picture perfect. Fury’s whole team deserves a lot of credit for how they have guided him to the world title, and how they stood up for him in the final run up to the fight. We had glove gate, when Klitschko tried to force Tyson to wear gloves that weren’t suitable for him, then we had foam gate, when the ring was found to have an extremely spongy canvas, due to 3 layers of foam, which was finally removed after protests from team Fury. Finally, less than hours before the fight was due to start, we had the slightly more sinister hand wrap gate, when it was discovered that Klitschko’s hands had been wrapped without supervision from a member of the Fury team. Again there were forceful protests, and Tyson’s Father, John Fury, threatened to pull his son out of the fight, until the wraps were removed, and replaced while under supervision. The job that Tyson’s team has done in making sure that he got a fair deal cannot be underestimated.
Fury remains a polarising figure. In the wake of his victory last night, there are many today with egg on their faces. The reaction of these people in the coming days will be to jump belatedly onto the Fury bandwagon, or else dismiss his victory yesterday with the kind of negative comments that have already started to appear in some areas of the social media.
The truth is, it is very hard to find negative outcomes emerging from Fury’s victory over Wladimir. Whatever you may think of him as a person, there is no denying that he is a breath of fresh air at the top of the division that has become staid and predictable under the reign of Wlad, and his now retired brother Vitali. The division has been crying out for new blood, and a champion who has the personality to reach beyond the confines of the sport. In Tyson Fury, boxing finally has a personality that can invigorate the division, and inspire interest in the sport itself. Tyson’s whole story is inspirational, from being born 2 months prematurely and weighing a mere one pound, to winning the Heavyweight championship of the world.
Fury has won the world title at the perfect time, with possible fights looming with the likes of Anthony Joshua, Deontay Wilder, and the possible comeback of David Haye. The future of heavyweight boxing is suddenly looking far from boring, especially in England. Firstly, Tyson is likely to make his first defence against the deposed Wladimir Klitschko, in what is likely to be the biggest heavyweight fight in many years. The rematch is also likely to be more dramatic than the first fight, now that Klitschko knows that he can be out-boxed by Fury. Klitschko will have to change his approach in any rematch or else he will be simply out-boxed again.
The new blood has already got the heavyweight division flowing again.
The Boxing Glove, Inc. Peter Silkov Art. All Rights Reserved. Peter Silkov contributes to www.theboxingglove.com
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