The two kings of heavyweight boxing go head to head in Dusseldorf on the 28th November, but which one will be sitting on top of the throne by Christmas?
The self-proclaimed ‘Gypsy King’, Tyson Fury, has certainly been talking the talk recently, but has his mouth got him into something he can’t handle? He faces the colossus of world boxing in heavyweight king Wladimir Klitschko. despite the self-confidence displayed by Fury, he has an extremely tough task ahead of him.
Most recently, Fury has been weighing in on the potential resurgence of David Haye and claiming that he won’t follow where the Haymaker failed. Fury claimed this week, “He [Haye] didn’t have the cajones to get stuck in, the do or die attitude…. The difference between me and him is, I’m a true fighting man and I will go out on my back and be carried out than lose on points”.
This is fighting talk from Fury, it looks like he will be swinging for Klitschko’s head rather than the points tactic Haye lost with. All boxing fans will surely be hoping that Fury puts into effect with his hands what he says with his mouth, but how likely will that be?
Klitschko to lose?
Going over Wladimir Klitschko’s stats and history feels like going over trodden ground but it is always impressive when refreshed in your memory. The Ukrainian has been around for donkey’s years and boasts a boxing record of 64–3–0, with 53 wins by way of knockout.
What the Ukrainian has against him is that he will be the smaller of the two in the ring – at 6’6’’, he is 3 inches shorter than Fury. Checking the weights as well shows that in the fighter’s previous bouts the champion was 17st 4lb 9oz compared to Fury’s 18st 8lbs.
Klitschko’s usual tactic of jabbing his way to victory on points may also be difficult due to his reach not counting for much against the Gypsy Giant. He does of course have an immense amount of experience to feed from, a reputation to uphold and that’s before we have even mentioned the ‘home’ advantage from the fight taking place in Dusseldorf, which is the Ukrainian’s home away from home.
Even Fury thinks it’s a major advantage, stating, “You think they’re going to give a Brit a points decision in Germany over a super champion who has just signed a new five-year deal with [television network] RTL – do you think that’s really going to happen?” It looks like even if Fury wanted to hold on for points he would lose, this could guarantee fireworks with Tyson having nothing to lose.
Fury or patience?
Tyson Fury is unbeaten in 24 fights, boasting 18 knockouts, but is still viewed as the underdog. Is this a fair assessment? Not only has Fury never lost a fight, but after a career of smaller opponents he showed a classy knockout of Derick Chisora who is a premium class boxer in the division.
It will be interesting to see the tactics of Fury and whether he will go for the all or nothing strategy. If he decides to play the long game this could put him in an advantageous position: he has a significant reach and can certainly ware down the 13 extra years of body wear-and-tear that Klitschko is entering the ring with.
Tyson has an exceptional talent for talk, hyping a fight and entertaining his fans but this is a huge opportunity for him to cement himself as something more than a talker and find his place in the records as a top quality boxer too.
The outcome
There is no doubt that Fury is confident in his own abilities – he has promised to knockout Wladimir on the night. The fact that Klitschko has been knocked out three times in his career gives some validation to Fury’s claims that he can do so.
The consensus will be that Klitschko is perhaps a step too far for the Gypsy King, with odds of 1.22 on Klitschko win and 4.33 on Fury. But with the disappointment of the so-called ‘fight of the century’ between Mayweather and Paquiao fans will be looking for something to remember of 2015 in the world of boxing and Fury might be the man to provide it. So perhaps a bet on Fury to win by KO could provide fans with an early Christmas present.
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