when did you know Tyson Fury was gonna be special

He proved to be a top contender in the Chisora, but I wasn’t convinced that he was special until thr Wilder rematch. Lost count on how many times I picked against him, Chisora I, Cunningham, Wlad, Wilder I&II(main reason I picked Wilder in the rematch was because I thought he’d be out of shape at 270lbs+). Performance against Wlad was very impressive, but I needed to see the rematch, which he bottled. After Wilder II, I was convinced that he’d toy with Whyte and was a cut above Joshua. Though I’ll still back my boy Usyk to beat him, as long as he takes care of the business against Joshua which he should.

 

....I've never thought he was all that special

 

Very early in his career

 

This.

 

When he was so slick and elusive, as well as so fast with his counterpunches against Wlad

granted Wlad was clearly declining and his reflexes were very noticeably slipping, Fury was still the first to beat one of the longest reigning HW champions ever


.

 

Self-uppercut.

"That boy special aight..."

 

Yeah I think the vast majority of people who say it was any earlier than this are probably telling lies. I know I didn't think he was going to beat Wlad, only he and his family did really.

This was definitely the fight which made me wake up to him, but further to that, it was how, watching the build-up, brilliantly entertaining as all of that was, all of the stuff he said with seemingly misplaced arrogance, perhaps even ignorance in front of the 11-year reigning King, made him look unlikeable, delusional and crazy....the performance which followed flipped it totally on its head. Every word had been truth, the "arrogance" (confidence) was not misplaced, but totally genuine and after he did it he said calmly to the world, which did not give him the slightest chance, "I told you so"


That is special

 

Wilder 2. Remember watching his debut i think it was....was either his debut or his first fight on channel 5 i think it was and thinking he,d go nowhere. Pretty sure his father was on talking him up as the next big thing. Then he comes on looking too fat. Not a great puncher etc.

Looking back the signs we,re probably there around chisora time. Think i put it down to styles make fights and chisora hadnt really fought anyone at that point. Chisora then pretty much beats helenius and gives vitali a half decent fight. In hindsight with the way fury toyed with him....that was probably the point to realise he had very good potential.

Was impressed with how he approached klitchko but didnt think he would win. But knew after klitchko he was a lot better than giving credit for. Secretely i think i did always rate him but never in a million years did i think he,d have the career hes went on to have. Wilder one and two was when i realised he was a bit special tho. The first one because i genuinely thought he had no chance and it was a stupid fight to take bearing in mind the point he was at in his comeback. The second one was where he put everything together to show he is a special fighter.

Credit where its due tho....honestly did not think he,d go far in the grand scheme of things. Think after seeing mcdermott one i thought that was about his level. British level.

But looking back....the signs we,re there he was going to be better than that...not sure there we,re that many signs of him being special tho tbf.

 

He took that uppercut much better than Whyte did.

 

The Klitschko fight made me a believer of his full talents. However, it was the first Wilder fight that helped me realize just how special a fighter he is. Before that I never took him seriously and it’s amazing how time changes, especially after the infamous self uppercut video. I don’t think anyone honestly thought he’d be much more than the guy who punched himself in the ring.

 

When the Brittards were claiming Chisora would beat him in a rematch & Price would knock him out. The Brittards then claiming Haye would KO him all but guaranteed Fury's future greatness.

 

Crazy to think a guy who was at first most famous for punching himself in the face has ended up being arguably the best of his era. I remember joking with friends and sharing that gif of him punching himself. He was a laughing stock at that point of his career, very few took him seriously.

But I guess it just shows that it's not where you start out it that matters. He put in the work and improved over time while so many others like Parker, Wilder etc stagnate once they reach a certain level but he continued to improve. Even in recent fights under the tutelage of Sugar Hill he's continues to grow and develop as a fighter, that ability to continue learning and developing is what makes him special in this era.

 

When he (aka Batman) put the Joker on his arse in the Wlad press conference

 

To be fair, I didn't. My kick boxing coach back in greater manchester told me he was one to watch out for in the future. Just for the sheer size of the young lad (he wasn't actually there or anything). I just remember the conversation and the gym we were visiting funily enough, but don't actually remember what year it was.

I guess I jumped on the band waggon when he turned pro, but to be honest I don't even remember. Never watched amateurs outside of the Olympics. But this was all, what?, 15+ years ago now. I couldn't say for sure.

Always had a feeling he would be the one to unseat Klitschko, though. But that was probably blind optimism on my part really, until much further down the line. I definitely had to tone such chat down when he punch himself in the face, mind. Lol

 

The Wlad build-up and then of course the Wlad fight. Before that he showed glimpses but let’s be honest everyone thought he was wild, out of shape and easy to hit. I actually picked him to beat Wlad because of the build-up but it was still a shock deep down…