By Gabriel Princewill-
Tyson Fury’s claim to have won every available belt in the heavyweight division is inaccurate because the gypsy king has never been undisputed world heavyweight champion of the world, despite his unbeatable record.
The remarkably mobile and so far impenetrable heavyweight champion must unify the heavyweight titles in order to be ranked among the greats of old, and incontrovertibly claim to be the best of his era- an accolade generally ascribed to him by fight fans across the world.
Fury will put his WBC heavyweight world title on the line this Saturday at Wembley Stadium against mandatory challenger Whyte, 34, but this fight cannot compare in stature as fighting for the unified titles which he was on track for against Anthony Joshua when the big fight was aborted by Deontey Wilder’s legal challenge last year.
The fight is expected to produce more fireworks than would have been witnessed had he shared the ring with Anthony Joshua for the aborted lucrative fight in Saudi Arabia last August.
Unfortunately for the enigmatic Tyson Fury, in the absence of unifying the division, he cannot claim to have achieved everything there is in the division, like the legendary Lennox Lewis did in his time as world heavyweight champion.
Should Fury emerge victorious against the very game Dillian Whyte on Saturday, his boxing record will remain impeccable and he would be following an admirable trend of accomplished heavyweight champions. Whyte is the underdog for Saturday’s scrap, but he is no push over, not for a fight of this magnitude.
Fury knows how imperative it is for him to out on a masterful display against tenacious and wiley customer like Dillian Whyte, against whom he must be under no illusions will turn up to win this weekend’s big clash. Only victory will suffice for a man of Fury’s boxing IQ, physical attributes, and supreme confidence.
Usyk beats Joshua last September and took his crown
Having beating the dynamic punching Deontey Wilder emphatically twice in a row, Fury’s confidence is sky high, so much that he is now claiming to have won every available belt in the division. His achievement in the sport is undeniable, but he is not yet at the apex of the division when talking about belts, and cannot fool even his most ardent fans that he is there.
The 33-year-old who claims to have nothing to prove in the sport sounded serious, even though not everybody believes him. He told the Top Rank YouTube channel: “I’ve got nothing to prove to anybody, I’m just there to have fun, take in the atmosphere, and enjoy the night.
“It’s the final farewell. It’s been a long old ride. It’s quite emotional to be honest.
“All this, the ride of, like, starting as a little kid and wanting to be heavyweight champion, and then to finally be hanging up the gloves.
“I know nobody believes me because they all think I’m after money or whatever else, there’s only a certain amount of people who know that money don’t mean nothing to me.
“I’m walking away. I have nothing to prove to nobody. I’ve done what I had to do.“ That’s it. Win, lose, or draw on Saturday night, we put up a good fight and we go home. That’s it.
“That’s the way I’ve been feeling.
“I said to [my wife] before the last Deontay Wilder fight, we was both in the room upstairs in the house in Vegas, and I said, “This is it. This is the last one now with Wilder. I don’t think there will be anymore.’ And she said, ‘Thank God for that.’
“And after the fight, we got the opportunity to do a big one at home with Dillian Whyte at Wembley Stadium, so it’s an opportunity that you don’t pass up.
“It’s the [national] stadium and it’s a massive, massive event. The biggest crowd that Wembley’s ever had in it for any sporting event, I believe. I was always planning to walk away, and here we are, walk away.” It came after Fury rejected the idea of facing either Anthony Joshua or Oleksandr Usyk.
Speaking earlier this week to talkSPORT, Fury said: “Nah, they’ve had their chances.
“That’s sailed, gone.
“They’ve had so many chances to grow a pair, step in the ring and do battle with the Gypsy King, and they didn’t do it.
“For whatever reason, whether it was gonna be money, or belts, or pride. “They had their chance and now it’s flew away.
“I’m sorry, but this is it. Tune in now, because you’re never gonna get to see big GK in action again after this. This is it.
“There’s nothing for me to achieve.
“I’ve won every belt in the world that there is to win. I’ve broke all records.
“No-one in my era has won the Ring Magazine belt, only me.
“No-one in my era has ever been lineal champion, only me.
“I’ve won every single belt there is to win in the sport and I’m getting out healthy, in one piece and undefeated.” There are still three other belts which would define him as officially the best heavyweight in the world, which he hasn’t one.
Bragging Rights
Bragging rights is something Tyson Fury cannot be denied , and unofficially, the tough unorthodox giant is deemed the best heavyweight in the world.
Notwithstanding, Olegsander Usyk currently holds the official position of being the best, having beaten Anthony Joshua with just two heavyweight fights under his belt prior to the clash.
Unbeaten Usyk who was also a cruiserweight world champion has more of a right to consider himself God’s gift to the division given the very quick way he arrived in the division and won all the belts.
In any event Usyk repeats the conquest against Anthony Joshua, and Fury is nowhere to be found if he beats Dillian Whyte, the gypsy king will have to concede that although he had a brilliant career, he cannot factually claim to have been the best of his division.
Usyk (left)beats Anthony Joshua(right) to steal his crown last September Image:skysports.com
Unfortunately for the enigmatic Tyson Fury, in the absence of unifying the division, he cannot claim to have achieved everything there is in the division, like the legendary Lennox Lewis did in his time as world heavyweight champion.
Should Joshua avenge his defeat also, Fury will have no excuse to miss a historical opportunity to face Joshua for the unified belts, having got this far.
When asked whether he would skip the fight to face Joshua, Fury said:
“That’s sailed, gone.
“They’ve had so many chances to grow a pair, step in the ring and do battle with the Gypsy King, and they didn’t do it.
“For whatever reason, whether it was gonna be money, or belts, or pride.
“They had their chance and now it’s flew away.
“I’m sorry, but this is it. Tune in now, because you’re never gonna get to see big GK in action again after this. This is it.”
Over 90,000 will be in attendance at Wembley and Fury is relishing putting on a show against Whyte, who will finally get his first title shot.
“I’m feeling great,” he declared.
“It’s my big opportunity to put on a great show for everybody coming – over 90,000 people who have spent their hard-earned money in tough times to come out and show support and see a good fight – and that is what we’re doing to give them.
“We’re going to give you guys a hell of a fight!”