By: Sean Crose
“He looks so old,” my wife said Saturday when she got a look at former world heavyweight titlist Tyson Fury. My wife is no boxing fan, but being the spouse of a fight writer, knows well who Fury is. The truth was that I was thinking the same thing she was. He had the usual Tyson Fury physique, but the Gypsy King’s face showed evidence of three massive wars against Deontay Wilder waged years earlier. Sure enough, Fury appeared to be a bit different in other ways, as well.
For there was no horsing around when he entered the ring at London’s O2 Arena to face Arslanbek Makhmudov on Saturday. This was somewhat unusual, as Fury had gone so far to as to enter the ring dressed as a king in his heyday. Of course, the towering Brit’s heyday had indeed come and gone. Fury had lost two of his last three fights, after all, plus he slipped between the ropes on Saturday after a long layoff – a full two years plus. No, Fury didn’t seem like his old self before the fight. It seemed to be a new version of Fury who entered the ring before thousands of boisterous fans.
Fortunately for those British fans (who were largely there in support of their countryman, Fury) the former world titlist hadn’t changed that much stylistically from his former self. Although he may not have been quite as fast or even as hard hitting as he once was, Fury proved once again on Saturday that he’s one of the best in the business – even after a ring absence of over two years. Long story short: the man didn’t look bad for a fighter pushing forty. Of course, he had some help from his opponent Makhmudov, who, although hard hitting and game, was clearly outclassed by his famous foe.
Although he perhaps lost a round or two, Fury essentially dominated the bout behind a sharp jab, precision punching and an ability to stifle his opponent physically after landing on the man. Even though he was hit on occasion, Fury rarely looked anything less than dominant throughout the course of the match. With that it mind, it must be reiterated that poor Makhmudov was far lower down the skill set ladder than Fury was. Even the guy’s power didn’t carry him to victory – not much of a surprise considering Fury had previously taken all the firepower in Deontay Wilder’s arsenal some time back.
The question now, of course, is what’s next for the 34-2-1 Fury. The answer should be Anthony Joshua, but Fury’s fellow Englishman made it clear after the bout that he was in no rush to meet Fury in the ring, not that he wouldn’t like to. Sure enough, Joshua gave the impression after the bout that he felt Fury’s inevitable call out from the ring was a bit of showmanship. He appeared a bit hostile, Joshua, but it’s unwise to make assertions of fighters, as so much goes on behind the scenes in this sport. Besides, both Fury and Joshua are running out of options. Each man has been bested by Oleksandr Usyk twice and there’s a new breed of heavyweight coming up that these established and older stars might want to avoid at their age. Who then, if not the other?
Ultimately Fury proved to the world that he’s still a high-end commodity for boxing, which means there will likely be more arena bouts in the man’s future. It’s doubtful he’ll be the force he once was, Fury, but there’s still a legacy for the man to care about – as well as some very large potential paychecks. Those are tempting at any point in a fighter’s career.
