By Peter Silkov
Writer for The Boxing Glove
 |
| Wembley Stadium |
If
Saturday night proves to be the final night of Tyson Fury’s career,
then he will have performed yet another rare feat during his
tumultuous boxing career, by becoming one of the very few world
champions who chose to walk away while they were still ‘king of the
hill’. With his sixth-round knockout of Dillian Whyte before a
record-breaking audience of 94,000, Tyson showed that he is not just
the best heavyweight in the world, but if anything at almost 34 years
of age, still getting better. Tyson dismantled Whyte with the air of
a man watering his garden on a Saturday afternoon. Any fears that the
three wars with Deontay Wilder may have taken something out of Fury
were shown to be unfounded as ‘The Gypsy King’ first out-boxed,
then out-punched ‘The Body Snatcher’ before finally knocking him
out of the fight altogether with a clinical right uppercut. Fury did
all this with ease, which left the impression that he had barely got
out of 2nd gear. In the end, it was easier than many had expected it
to be. Whyte was always seemingly a step behind, as ‘The Gypsy
King’ showed himself to be a league above his challenger.
 |
| Dillian Whyte Enters Ring |
The
bout began cagily with both men weighing each other up, and few
meaningful punches being landed. By the end of the round Fury was
already landing with his jab and showing a nimbleness of footwork,
which underlined the flat-footed nature of his challenger.
Anyone
who believed that Whyte would start the fight fast and aggressively
was probably surprised by Whyte's demeanor. Fury is usually always a
slow starter, and many felt that the challenger's best chance of
victory, (perhaps his only chance) was to go after the champion from
the start. Yet Whyte started slowly, stalking Fury but without the
fire that might have been expected. Another surprise was that Whyte
opened the bout boxing as a southpaw, rather than in his usual
orthodox stance. This might have been part of a plan to try and
unsettle the champion, but if anything, it seemed to confuse Dillian
more than anyone else. Whatever plan lay behind Whyte's change in
stance was hastily abandoned after the opening round, and he fought
the remainder of the match in his usual orthodox manner. This was
always going to be a long shot tactic for Whyte, as Fury is one of
the very few fighters who can switch with ease from orthodox to
southpaw, so he was never very likely to be bothered by Whyte's
rather random attempt at boxing southpaw.
Fury was finding his rhythm by the second round while Whyte was already beginning to struggle with the champion’s speed and movement. Tyson’s greatest attribute has always been not so much his size but the speed and dexterity which he has for a man of his size. Add that to his ring IQ and fitness, which belies his fleshy exterior, and you have a clue to Fury’s success.
It was becoming clear that this was a much
sharper and better conditioned ‘Gypsy King’ than we saw against
Wilder last October. Weighing in 13 pounds lighter at 264 pounds,
Fury’s reflexes and footwork was clearly improved. Fury was
displaying the boxing skills that he largely abandoned last October
against Wilder, when under trained and ring rusty, he had to resort
to going toe-to-toe to win their 3rd and final war.
Fury was
pot-shotting Whyte with jabs and the occasional right hand, landing
then stepping out of range. As the fight progressed, he was putting
more and more weight into his punches.
By the third round, Fury
was already beginning to slowly dominate. He was subtly chipping away
at Whyte with his left, at times tantalizing his challenger by
switching stances that seemed to wrong-foot and befuddle Whyte even
more. Always a rather flat-footed fighter, Fury’s nimbleness was
making Dillian seem pedestrian and clumsy.
Whyte was already
breathing heavily by the 4th stanza and showed some signs of growing
frustration as he attempted to drag Fury into a mauling brawl. There
were some ugly clinches and wrestling, as the referee seemed to
struggle to retain control of the fighters. One such mauling clinch
ended with a head butt from Whyte, which ironically resulted in a cut
above his right eye.
Fury stepped the pace up in the 5th and some
blows visibly hurt Whyte. As well as regularly spearing his
challenger with a damaging straight left, Fury was also hurting Whyte
with rights to the body. When he returned to his corner at the end of
the round, Fury seemed to say to his cornermen ‘Next round’.
The
conclusion came near the end of what had been a fairly quiet round.
Fury patiently looked for his opening while he jabbed with his left,
and Whyte was seemingly out of ideas and constantly tried to hold and
maul the champion. When the opening came Fury took it with deadly
precision. The end came via a peach of a right uppercut, which
deposited Whyte flat on his back. Fury’s hand speed, accuracy, and
underrated ability on the inside all came to play into the dramatic
finish of this match.
To his credit, Whyte beat the count and
tried to convince the referee that he was ok to continue. However,
his wobbly and uncoordinated body betrayed the fact that his brain
was no longer in charge of his faculties, and the referee’s
decision to stop the fight was probably his best action of the
night.
It was a brilliant performance by Tyson, who ended the
fight unmarked and had barely taken a serious punch. He had
outclassed ‘The Body Snatcher’ and underlined his standing in the
heavyweight division. Tyson stands head and shoulders over the rest
of the division, not just physically, but in all areas which make up
a top pugilist.
If anything, judging by this performance, at 34
years of age, Tyson is still improving. After a career plagued by
inactivity, (which was usually down to outside issues out of his
control) Tyson was finally able to give us a glimpse of what he can
do when he is fully trained, healthy, and not coming off a long layoff. Despite the wars with Wilder, Tyson seems to still have a lot
left in the tank and a lot more to show if he faces a challenger
capable of pushing him more than Dillian Whyte did Saturday night.
Should he walk away now while still at his peak? It is a question,
which only Tyson Fury himself should decide. Retirement has always
been the biggest challenge for most fighters, especially when they
are at or near the top of the tree.
 |
Team Fury Celebrating |
If he does walk away now,
Tyson Fury would be in rare company. Only one other world heavyweight
champion has ever retired undefeated while champion and stayed
retired, and that was the legendary Rocky Marciano.
Ironically, Britain’s last outstanding world heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis was also one of the very few to walk away while still world champion, but he was not undefeated, like the ‘Gypsy King’.
On one hand, it would be nice to see Fury face the winner of Usyk vs Joshua, ‘The Gypsy King’ brings an atmosphere and excitement to boxing that no one else can match at the moment, certainly in the heavyweight division. If this was Fury’s final boxing match, then he will most definitely be missed. Yet in a way, it would be fitting for Fury to once more mark himself out from the crowd and walk away from boxing despite the riches he can still make from it. A match with either Usyk or Joshua could earn Fury as much as 100 million pounds. But Fury gives the impression that he is tired of dealing with the constant petty politics that comes with dealing with Anthony Joshua and Eddie Hearn.
While Tyson was brilliant, when looking at
Dillian Whyte’s performance, one does have to wonder whether all
the preflight shenanigans, such as Whyte refusing to take part in the
fight promotional press conferences and the long-running row
regarding the cut of his purse, ended up hurting Dillian rather than
Fury. ‘The Body Snatcher’ never seemed as fired up, as you would
expect for someone finally getting the chance to fight for the world
heavyweight championship. Even on his ring entrance, the challenger
seemed strangely subdued and almost drained. One also has to question
the tactics that Whyte used during the fight. It seemed Dillian's
best chance of victory was to try and land one of his big shots. Yet
too often he was trying to box with Tyson rather than drag him into a
toe-to-toe war. In the end, Whyte seemed to find Tyson too strong as
well as too fast and skillful.
Ultimately Whyte did not look like
a challenger who believed that he could win. Something which was
betrayed by his pre-fight behavior.
As the dust settles on
Saturday night it seems that Dillian Whyte is attempting to excuse
his defeat with some bizarre claims, the like of which even Deontay
Wilder would have been embarrassed to attempt. In the end, it seems
that the hapless Whyte (after receiving a career-high purse for a
world title fight that he didn’t deserve) is unable to even be a
graceful loser.
Fury has done more than enough in and out of the
ring to deserve a long and happy retirement. He has battled back from
mental health and substance abuse issues which put him in such a
state that many found it laughable when he announced his comeback.
Incredibly, what a comeback it has been, despite those who still
doubted him (including right up to Saturday’s fight!). Tyson has
fought back from being a mental and physical wreck to undoubtedly the
number one heavyweight in the world and the best heavyweight of his
generation. A victory over either Usyk or Joshua would mean little
now in the grand scheme of things. Neither man seems to be a true
threat to Fury.
Fury has many other opportunities away from
boxing, whether it is as an actor, trainer, or even a promoter. It
would be sad to see him make the mistake of so many others by staying
too long. There will always be more challengers and fights to take.
In the end, too many great fighters find themselves ground down by it
all until they are beaten and defeated.
Carry on being
different Tyson and walk away now.
Follow us on Twitter: @TheBoxingGlove and
Facebook: www.facebook.com/theboxinggloveInstagram: TheBoxingGlove
If you are an boxer, amateur or professional, and want us to follow you or tell your story, contact petersilkov@yahoo.com or theboxingglove@yahoo.com
If you are an boxer, amateur or professional, and want us to follow you or tell your story, contact petersilkov@yahoo.com or theboxingglove@yahoo.com
If you are an author and you would like your book reviewed, contact Peter Silkov at petersilkov@yahoo.com or theboxingglove@yahoo.com
