Promoter Frank Warren says Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk are “the two best heavyweights in the 21st century.”
Manufactured Legacy
That’s hard to believe, though, as Fury (34-2-1, 24 KOs) doesn’t have the resume to back up that claim. Indeed, the eye test shows that he is not even among the fifth best of the division’s current heavyweights.
Tyson was just an overrated, carefully packaged hype job. If you look at Fury’s resume, there is nothing there to suggest that he is even in the top 20 heavyweights of this century. Throw him in with some of the talented competitors in this era or the past, and he’s torn apart.
If you look back to when the 21st century started, a lot of heavyweights would have beaten Fury if he fought them back from 2001 to 2012. This century started in 2001.
21st Century Heavyweights:
– Vitali Klitschko
– Lennox Lewis
– Wladimir Klitschko: *young version from 2001 to 2009
– Corrie Sanders
– Shannon Briggs
– Martin Bakole
– Moses Itauma
–Joseph Parker
– Zhilei Zhang
– Anthony Joshua
– Bakhodir Jalolov
– Daniel Dubois
– Jared Anderson
Fury would have lost to most, if not all, of those heavyweights. You can only imagine which South African southpaw Corrie Sanders would have done to Fury with those left hands. The version of Sanders who knocked out Wladimir in the second round in 2003 would have made easy work of Fury. He would have left the Gyspy King on the canvas in a heap of broken flesh.
A level victory list
The Gypsy King’s career was basically created by beating a washed-up 39-year-old Wladimir in 2015, and it wasn’t even an impressive performance. He barely beat the gunshy, shot Klitschko to pieces. From there, Fury made a gold mine, thanks to the careful matchups.
Fury’s best wins:
Wladimir Klitschko: *39 and over-the-hill
Deontay Wilder
Dillion Whyte: *journeyman
Dereck Chisora: *Same as above
Otto Wallin
Francis Ngannou: *0-0 rookie
Steve Cunningham: *cruiserweight
Christian Hammer: Fringe Contender
Kevin Johnson: *traveler
“He’s one of the greats, and he and Usyk are definitely the two best heavyweights in the 21st century, that’s for sure,” Frank Warren told Sky Sports Boxing about Tyson Fury. “Look at the big fights they had. Those two fights, both were amazing. Regardless of who you thought won, these were incredible fights.
“It takes two fighters to make a great fight. Tyson is up there with all the great names you can name. He did everything you could ask of him. He had never been in a dull flight. All those fights you look back on, they were classic fights, dramatic. The drama in these fights is unbelievable,” Warren said, sounding like he was going a little overboard with his praise of Fury.
“One of the greats!” 🙌 Frank Warren says she says about Tyson Fury’s retirement announcement 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/WHGzAAr3KC
— Sky Sports Boxing (@SkySportsBoxing) January 13, 2025
