By: Sean Crose
When Tyson Fury upset Wladimir Klitschko over a decade ago the fight world looked toward the future. Not because Fury had performed brilliantly. He hadn’t. The fight world was excited because the Klitschko era was now over. That’s no knock on Klitschko. He was a great fighter and is an honorable man. But he was one of the least exciting knockout artists in history. Fury though obnoxious drew interest to the heavyweight division, an interest that was much needed. What’s more there were other gunfighters like Fury chomping at the bit. Again, times were changing and people felt they were changing for the better.
For aside from Fury there was towering Englishman Anthony Joshua. What’s more the hard-hitting American Deontay Wilder was making waves of his own. I honestly believed it was the hard-hitting Wilder who would eventually emerge victorious over all competitors. How wrong I was. No matter what I was excited that were there were three big names: Fury, Wilder, and Joshua who were all at some point going to face off. Or so I thought. It turned out that aside from a trilogy between Fury and Wilder the men were not to face each other. Now years after the sell by date, Fury and Joshua will be getting it on in the ring.
Although it’s an interesting and exciting affair, it is ultimately too little too late. Both Fury and Joshua have seen their primes come and go. What’s more both ended up getting defeated by Olexandr Usyk the former undisputed cruiserweight champion of the world. That’s right, when the dust settled it wasn’t Fury for Joshua or Wilder who held the title of heavyweight king, it was the Ukrainian Usyk. Funny how things work out sometimes. Among other things the Fury – Joshua fight will represent the end of the post Klitschko era of the heavyweight division.
So how exactly was the post-clisco era? Did it live up to expectations? Well, Fury didn’t fight Joshua when he should have. What’s more Wilder never fought Joshua either. It seemed that fights that should have happened simply didn’t. That’s not unusual in the sport of boxing but in this case it’s too bad. Or is it? Boxing has a way of surprising people. And Oleksandr Usyk, let’s face it, surprised a lot of people by proving to be the best of an era (still it would have been nice to see him face Wilder too).
One thing the post klitschko era definitely gave us was a thrilling trilogy. That’s right, Fury and Wilder fought in a classic 3 fight war where Fury won two out of three times and drew with Wilder on one occasion. They were thrillers these fights with numerous knockdowns and many out of your seat moments. That alone leaves the post Klitschko era, in my opinion at least, to be looked at as a success. Others see it differently of course, but I’ve got to stick to my guns on this one. It’s easy to roll your eyes at everything if you’re not fighting, but the Fury – Wilder trilogy was the stuff that dreams are made of.
The question now is where will the heavyweight division go from here. There isn’t a lot of great new blood out there or at least must see fighters. One or two will emerge of course but it seems to be slow in happening. An exciting fighter has to come along soon or things will begin to look very stale in the big man’s division. And right now the sport really needs a heavyweight division that’s intriguing. Here’s hoping for good times ahead.
