Is Tyson Fury really great?

Promoter Frank Warren says Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk are “the two best heavyweights of the 21st century.”

Manufactured legacy

That’s hard to believe, however, as Fury (34-2-1, 24 KOs) doesn’t have the resume to back up that claim. In fact, the eye test shows he’s not even among the fifth best heavyweights in the current division.

Tyson was simply an overhyped, carefully packaged publicity job. If you look at Fury’s resume, nothing suggests he’s even among the top 20 heavyweights of this century. Add him to some of the talented contenders of this era or the past and he will be destroyed.

If you look back to when the 21st century started, many heavyweights would have beaten Fury if he had fought them between 2001 and 2012. This century started in 2001.

Heavyweights of the 21st century:

– Vitali Klitschko
– Lennox Lewis
– Wladimir Klitschko: *young version from 2001 to 2009
-Corrie Sanders
-Shannon Briggs
– Martin Bakole
– Moisés Itauma
-Joseph Parker
-Zhilei Zhang
– Antonio Joshua
– Bakhodir Jalolov
-Daniel Dubois
–Jared Anderson

Fury would have lost to most of those heavyweights, if not all of them. You can only imagine what the South African left-hander Corrie Sanders he 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 Fury’s job easier. He would have left the Gypsy King on the canvas in a pile of torn meat.

A superficial list of victories

The Gypsy King’s career was basically created by beating Wladimir, 39, in 2015, and it wasn’t even an impressive performance. He barely defeated the gunman and shot Klitschko into pieces. From there, Fury made a goldmine thanks to careful matchmaking.

Fury’s best wins:

Wladimir Klitschko: *39 and beyond the hill
Deontay Wilder
Dillion Whyte: *laborer
Dereck Chisora: *Same as above
Otto Wallin
Francis Ngannou: *0-0 rookie
Steve Cunningham: *cruiserweight
Christian Hammer: fringe contender
Kevin Johnson: *laborer

“He’s one of the greats, and certainly he and Usyk are the two best heavyweights of 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 were incredible. Regardless of who you thought won, they were incredible fights.

“It takes two fighters to have great fights. Tyson is right up there with every big name you can name. He has done everything you can ask of him. You’ve never been on a boring flight. All those fights that you remember were classic, dramatic fights. The drama in these fights is amazing,” Warren said, sounding like he was going a little overboard in praising Fury.

“One of the greats!” 🙌 Frank Warren gives his opinion on Tyson Fury’s retirement announcement 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/WHGzAAr3KC

– Sky Sports Boxing (@SkySportsBoxing) January 13, 2025