There are still doubts among experts and fans as to whether Tyson Fury will permanently retire from boxing. The Manchester born fighter retired after making a defence of the WBC crown that he won from Deontay Wilder last year by defeating Dillian Whyte by knockout at Wembley stadium in the 6th round in front of 94,000 people in attendance. It is now expected that the WBC belt will become vacant with Wilder fighting for it in the not too distant future.
After beating “the main man” twice in Wladimir Klitschko and American Wilder, the question remains if Tyson Fury has fought his most defining opponent yet.
Despite opinions that Fury’s fight with Klitschko in 2015, in which he won the IBF, WBA and IBO titles, was not the most entertaining of battles it need not be forgotten that the Ukrainian had been dominant in the division for almost 10 years. Klitschko, himself, was not the most exciting of boxers. But he always got the job done after coming back well from knockout losses to Corrie Sanders and Lamon Brewster which looked to have put the final nail in the coffin of his career in the early 2000’s. Teaming up with Emmanuel Steward altered his whole fighting approach that served him brilliantly soon after.
And then there Is Deontay Wilder, one of the most powerful punchers in modern history. Maybe even of all time when the dust settles after he finally hangs them up. He doesn’t have much of a technique. And there are some serious fundamental flaws that he will likely not be able to work on at this point. But that power has gotten him out of trouble most of the time.
Anthony Joshua still has to face Oleksandr Usyk in a return match in an attempt to right what went wrong in their first fight that took place at Tottenham last year. I do not have much hope that he can do that, but I have been surprised a number of times in this sport. But even if Joshua does lose again, Fury might like to fight Usyk who will surely go down as one of the best cruiserweight boxers of all time in years to come. And if promoted right, Fury v Joshua could still be an appetising contest even if the Londoner racks up a third loss before then. The British public love a good Battle of Britain type boxing match.
But getting back to whether Fury has yet has his defining fight, I would say no he hasn’t. Although I do feel that his win over Klitschko is massively underrated due to the majority view that it unfortunately wasn’t captivating. It is much easier to see why Wilder was not a defining fight considering his flaws and general lack of quality opposition, although there are some exceptions.
And I think it is exactly that reason why Tyson Fury needs to come back, rather than “should.” The timing is wrong for him to permanently walk away now. He still has a bit more to do if he wants to secure a lasting legacy. Right now, Fury will often be known as the man who had the ability to leave something memorable behind. But his penchant for winning titles and not defending them is kind of detrimental to his remembrance.
Personally, I think it is just a matter of time until he announces his return. I expect that to happen sometime within the next 12 months. Possibly a little while after Joshua and Usyk duke it out again.
And if Tyson Fury does not. Well, then it will be a shame.
