Undoubtedly the first was Joshua-Klitschko, Fury vs. Klit probably turned more people away from boxing and the HW division if anything. Wilder-Fury just cemented its absolute legitimacy and reinforced its revival. @PaddyGarcia had the other best shout -- Pulev vs. Dinu 2019. I dont think their is enough infrastructure in the streaming and PPV industries combined to be able to present us all with such a gem. Pulev the battle hardened and skilled vet with one of the best jabs in all of boxing vs. Din u, a stone cold junkyard dog with heart, guts, and balls reminiscent of a prime Tex Cobb.
Fury Wlad was a shocker let’s be honest. I think that’s one thing that didn’t help fury’s mental state, the way he was received for that fight.
He’s way more popular than Lewis was, Lewis only gets his respect in retrospect, and even then it’s still limited to denigrating current crop of European fighters. Everything levelled at AJ Lennox went through, Same American exceptionalist bull****.
My opinion there are two fights; Joshua vs Parker Fury vs Wilder Both fighters equally putting the lot on the line in both fights, belts, reputations whatever you want to call it. We all know it's a money game and the fights we want will happpen. But sometimes a few years to late
Uh, wut? How is it American exceptionalism to say one British guy is more popular than another British guy? Lewis was a household name in America because he fought and beat two ATG American heavyweights. I bet not 1 in 5 Americans have ever heard the name Anthony Joshua. His fame is limited to boxing fans only. I'll even go further. It's not just that Lewis "was" more popular than AJ, he "IS" more popular in America than AJ. And no one accused Lewis of ducking people. In fact, it was the American champion (Bowe) that was ridiculed for ducking him. And rightfully so. Lewis was also much better than Joshua, which is probably why he was willing to take on the other greats of his era, while Joshua apparently is not. But if it's American exceptionalism you crave, I got some for you. For HWs, boxing history proves the U.S. is the big leagues. There have been a few non-American ATGs, and Lewis is one of them, because he proved himself here. There's one guy out there right now AJ could fight and prove beyond doubt he's the best in the world. Will he do it?
Unfortunately that guy has just signed a deal with ESPN which make the prospect of him fighting AJ more remote than ever...
Fury vs Wlad, no matter what you thought of the fight there’s no denying it was the start of a new era, Fury freed the belts up and everything that’s happened since as been a chain reaction from that fight.
No one was clamouring for Fury vs Klitschko, it wasn't even on the radar,until after the fight where hardcores were shocked that Wlad lost. I knew people a year after that fight who thought Wlad was still the champion and didn't even know of a 6'9 giant and there irish. Fury self imploded ,his claim to fame to spread the sport was media rant attacks against everyone and lost his spot ,which made him popular through negativity NOT the Klitschko fight. The rematch itself wasn't even selling tickets that was to be in Manchester ,that's your answer right there. Joshua had generated 90,000 ppl and got the states talking ,everyone tuned into that fight becaue you never go wrong with two knockout punchers and one promoted with intelligence .He went on a media run right after that ,hes brought the sport back and this started way before the Klitschko fight ,it started his pro debut he sold out the O2 ,everyone was aware of him. Fury and the rest rode off what Joshua did ,they're more known because of him, lets get that straight. If fury had to rely on wilder as his sole competiton ,do you really think these guys would have generated that much interest globally like AJ ? Joshua has transcended the sport and fury cant do that at this point, no title defenses ,his style isn't fan friendly as much, hes got character but this is actually boxing,in the end you got to draw people to your fighting journey. fury doesn't have that. Joshua will go down as an ATG and maybe even go undefeated if not go without a loss for a minute. They still think Wilders a basketball player when he enters Barclays and asks wasn't that the guy who fought Fury ?
Fury/Wlad changed things and set up what was to happen after but had Joshua/Wlad not happened and Joshua not become the huge star and draw is currently is the division wouldn't be where it is now. Remember they were struggling to sell tickets for the Fury/Wlad rematch, it wasn't a fight that crossed over in to the consciousness of the mainstream media. It was never going to be as big as what Joshua/Wlad ended up being. The revival is mainly due to Joshua's ability to cross over and become famous outside of the usual hardcore boxing fans. Would Wilder have ever taken the risks he has recently if Joshua's emergence hadn't given him an option for a huge payday? Would Fury of been able to claw his way back from the drink, drugs and obesity without someone like Joshua giving him a goal/target to aim for again? Would Whyte have become the PPV draw he is now without ever fighting Joshua?
I dont think any one fight did it. I think it was a culmination of Fury, AJ and Wilder, all rising to the top near the same time, Fury and AJ both securing wins (AJ's being a fight of the year style fight) over the previous king, and all having fairly decent momentum and hype and undefeated records all at the same time. Though, if I HAD to choose one, I would probably have to go with Fury vs Wlad, as that is, officially, the first and true changing of the guard and is somewhat symbolic to the arrival of the 'new era'. But it simply cant stand on its own, imo. It needed the other pieces (AJ and Wilder) to get hot at the same time, for it to have its current significance in terms of it being a 'hot division'. imo.
