October 24th is a massive night for British fight fans as Tyson Fury takes his first stab at world honors. The man standing in his way? Well, its only Wladimir Klitschko, the long reigning heavyweight kingpin.
While some believe Fury could be the man to end Klitschko’s kingship, I don’t buy it. Here, find the top 3 reasons I believe this is a step too far for Manchester’s heavyweight hope.
1. Focus
Already at the introductory press conference we have seen Fury doing what he generally does best, behaving both goofy and inflammatory, telling Klitschko he will break his face and repeatedly telling him to shut up. While this is often an aspect of Fury’s game, I don’t believe it will serve him well against Klitschko, who epitomizes calm.
The Ukrainian has bossed the heavyweight division for years and whatever people’s opinion of him, he has been head and shoulders above his opponents over the last decade. Now, Fury does present something intriguing for Klitschko, but his childish mind games won’t be what will win this fight. Just ask David Haye.
Fury must retain his focus and not allow the build up to become a circus because Klitschko will remain unmoved throughout. But sadly, I can’t see that happening and I think this could be the first hole in his madcap game plan.
2. Defense
Fury can punch. But its the art of avoidance that can maintain a successful career as the quality of opposition rises. Has Fury been battered and dragged through a dogfight? No. But he has been put down and his defense has shown fragility in the past.
Steve Cunningham had him down as early as the second round, with Cunningham jumping up from cruiserweight while not having true heavyweight power. Klitschko brings a 79% knockout ratio into the fight. Cunningham a mere 37% in comparison, largely against those cruisers.
If Klitschko hits you, you stay hit and unfortunately I have seen nothing to dispel questions surrounding Tyson’s chin. Wladimir Klitschko has been beaten three times in his career, between 1998 and 2004. In October, when the two face off it will be eleven and a half years since Klitschko has lost a bout.
He has dedicated himself under the tutelage of the late great Emmanuel Steward to avoid absorbing heavy shots and he remains one of the most difficult to shake regardless of weight. I see Fury taking more punishment than he dishes out and I think this will be a true test of his defensive ability and more so, his heart.
3. Consistency
Eleven and a half years is a long, long time to remain unbeaten. When you look back through the resume, and despite what the critics say, Klitschko has faced the biggest challengers in the division. He boxed Haye, Alexander Povetkin, Ruslan Chagaev, Kubrat Pulev, and seemingly a thousand others but has never once looked troubled.
He consistently shuts down his opponents and takes their strengths away from them. Fury, on the other hand, can either seem labored or loose. Brilliant or boring. The fact remains that when we look through a list of his conquests, the biggest names there are Cunningham, Kevin Johnson and Dereck Chisora.
Cunningham, we know, gave Fury issues. Johnson made him look terrible in a dull fight and Chisora took him all the way in the first fight before being stopped late in the rematch. He has never brought a level of consistency and in recent fights he has given rounds to guys like Joey Abell, whom pundits will claim Anthony Joshua would put to sleep as part of a warm up.
It’s obviously a struggle to look good all the time but Fury has shown no real level of development to my eye. I haven’t watched three fights of his and seen natural progression. He could turn up on the night and surprise us, boxing like a totally different fighter, but I always think it’s an easy way out to claim you’ll ‘show up when it counts!’. No consistency from Fury gives Klitschko that professional, champion’s edge and I think it will act as a deciding factor.
Tyson Fury has been presented with an outstanding opportunity, he has worked his way up the ladder and deserves his shot. I just cannot see how he deposes Wladimir Klitschko. Being in Germany makes it all the tougher and while he certainly carries confidence in his own ability, he’ll need more than that to win the bout.
