Has Fury shown enough to be in the conversation of the next potential great heavyweight?

At age 30, Tyson Fury at 28-0-1 has shown enough ( I think ) to enter the conversations of great potential heavyweights. On the other hand its debatable as his official wins are on the thin side.

While Fury will need a few more wins over current Ring Magazine top ten opponents to cement his boxing legacy, he is in position to do it.

Admittedly I'm not a big fan of Fury. Here's my report on him.

Boxing skills/ability to win rounds: Grade A-

Fury is a very tall and mobile boxer with ridiculously long arms who know how to use his assets. He moves well and defensively has the ability to make other heavyweight miss, which is something seldom seen in a man his size. He can also in-fight, and deliver body shots and is accurate in general. In terms of overall boxing ability/ the ability to win rounds, Fury rates favorably to most past lineal / Ring Magazine champions.

Power: Grade B. While not a one punch type of guy ( Omitting the KO2 win over Schwartz who has a very weak chin ), Fury can get most professional heavyweights respect. More of a grinder type who stops his opponents through attrition.

Hand and foot speed: Grade B+ While not elite here, he moves his feet and has better hand speed than most.

Ring IQ / Ring Generalship. Grade B. While Fury surely know where and when to engage, he does clown a bit, which might cost him down the line vas a very good opponent. He's there to entertain the fans, and I think the " show " is a double-edged sword that can add to his popularity, and also could limit his chances to win. So A- for a gameplan downgraded to a B for his entertainment gaps in the fight.

Chin / Punch resistance: Grade B. We've only seen Fury take a chin checker once, and it was vs. Wilder. While recovery and getting up as he did with his legs underneath him was impressive, I've also seen him buzzed by a non-punching blown up cruiserweight.

Size. Grade A+ At 6'8" tall with an 85" reach, Fury is a virtual unicorn at heavyweight. Few will be taller or have more reach, and few in shape will out weight him.

Quality of opposition faced. Grade C- Wlad at age 39 remains Fury best win. Fury showed how much better he was than WIlder in a draw that should be classified as a robbery. Wins over Chisora and Hammer, fringe contender types at best when he fought them round off his top 4 opponents faced. At age 30, Fury has plenty of time to improve in this department. he could clean out what's left of the era ( WIlder re-match, Johusa or Ruiz Jr fight ) and then face the next wave of up and coming super heavyweight, almost all of whom can punch, some can well too. Retaining his title with this path will earn him hall of fame distinctions. Hopefully, he does not take the Wilder path of picking non-top 10 opponents in a consecutive fashion for title defenses.

Heart / Conditioning. Grade A- Fury defies conventional wisdom as he can be 20 pounds overweight, and it doesn't affect his performance level much. He has very good energy for the later rounds. His ideal weight is likely 245 pounds. When things aren't going Fury's way he has yet to show signs of folding / taking the easy path in exchange for what he must do to win.

Outside the ring work ethic and clean living. Grade D. While Fury's return to boxing from a rehab center was impressive, I'm not sure how much of it was part of his show. Fury was dealing with a PED suspension. The rehab portion could have been quite a cover act as overcoming addictions is not an easy feat. Or maybe it wasn't an act. I think it was, at least partially. Fury is his best promoter, almost as good as Ali was. If Fury wanted to 245 pounds, he certainly could be. There comes a too much weight cost a fighter. 263 pounds isn't the number, but 275 could be. It's also unclear when Fury's problems with depression, drinking, or alcohol will resurface.

 

Not for me, he'll have to do more than beat Wilder and win two mores wins ovet those names to be in Lewis class. He might get in the hall of fame one day, but great heavyweight requires a bit more, I think.

 

To be a true great, he needs to clean out the guys on top for now, and then facer the young undefeated heavyweights who can box and punch on the way up. If he can do that, no debate, A loss along the way is okay ( but not vs. a guy on Schwartz's level ) , its the key wins that matter most. Right now he has just one. I think he needs 3-4.