Promoter Frank Warren says Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk are “two of the best heavyweights in the 21st century.”
Manufactured Legacies
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 top five of the division’s current heavyweights.
Tyson was just an overrated, carefully packaged hype business. If you look at Fury’s resume, there’s nothing there to suggest he’s even a top 20 heavyweight of the century. Throw him in with any of the talented contenders in this era or the past, and he’ll be torn apart.
If you look back when the 21st century started, many heavyweights would have beaten Fury if he had fought them from 2001 to 2012. This century started in 2001.
21st Century Heavyweights:
– Vitaliy Klitschko
– Lennox Lewis
– Vladimir Klitschko: *young version from 2001 to 2009
– Corey Sanders
– Shannon Briggs
– Martin Bakole
– Moses Itauma
– Joseph Parker
– Zhilei Zhang
– Anthony Joshua
– Bahodir Jalolov
– Daniel Dubois
– Jared Anderson
Fury would lose to most if not all of those heavyweights. You can only imagine what a South African Southerner Corrie Sanders would do Fury with those left hands. The version of Sanders who knocked out Wladimir in the second round in 2003 would make things easier for Fury. He would leave Gispy King on the canvas in a pile of broken flesh.
A shallow list of victories
Gypsy King’s career has basically been born since a win over a washed-up 39-year-old Wladimir in 2015, and it wasn’t even an impressive performance. He barely beat the hot, cracked Klitschko. From there, Fury made a gold mine, thanks to careful partnering.
Fury’s Best Wins:
Wladimir Klitschko: *39 and over the hill
Deontay Wilder
Dillion White: *journeyman
Dereck Chisora: *Same as above
Otto Wallin
Francis Ngannou: *0-0 rookie
Steve Cunningham: *cruiser
Christian Hammer: borderline candidate
Kevin Johnson: *journeyman
“He’s one of the greats, and for sure he and Usyk are the two best heavyweights in the 21st century, that’s for sure,” Frank Warren told Sky Sports Boxing about Tyson Fury. “Look at the great struggles they had.” Those two fights, they were both incredible. 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’s never been on a boring flight. All those fights you refer to were classic, dramatic fights. The drama in these fights is unbelievable,” Warren said, sounding like he was exaggerating a bit in his praise of Fury.
“One of the greats!” 🙌 Frank Warren gives his thoughts on Tyson Fury’s retirement announcement 🗣 pic.twitter.com/VHGzAAr3KC
— Ski Sports Boking (@SkiSportsBoking) January 13, 2025