I'm not saying Whyte's a good fighter necessarily, just that he can brawl on the inside well enough. He is a total sucker for that uppercut though, you're right, main reason I wouldn't put him top of the pile.
Yeah that's where he fails as an inside fighter for me, he just doesn't have the footwork or head movement for it. Hell even his high guard when moving inside is questionable, he only waits for someone to engage him to be able to fight inside.
Canelo and Joshua aren't in-fighters (Joshua's dynamic uppercut is a mid-range punch he generally needs a clear seperation to get off with, and it's a stretch to describe anyone as an in-fighter on the basis of one shot). Joyce and Chisora possess more in-fighting capability than AJ. In-fighting is a sadly dying art, whatever the division. Yes, Tyson is the best in-fighter at heavy, and it's not close. He's always had that string to his bow; around 2012/13, I liked to refer to him as Half an Ali and Half a Bowe (among other homespun nicknames), which earned me no small amount of contemporaneous ridicule from some of the guys I chatted boxing with. Time has told them.
Fury is very clever, he understands boxing, some of it instinctive and some of it is experience and learnt. What Fury did against Wilder with his elbows, the position of his arms inside Wilders was impressive, but it was very easy for him because Wilder doesn't understand. So it looked far more impressive against Wilder.
two things for certain....Fury knows how to get that uppercut in when working inside, Wilder doesn't know how to avoid it. sheeeiiit...how many upper cuts did Fury take?
I've been watching a ton of Jack Dempsey lately and to me, he was the epitome of a great infighter at heavyweight. He knew how to be rough but clean, he constantly used his free hand in a clinch to pummel guys, he went to both the body and head, and his punches were short, swift, and powerful. His defense was quite good there, too. When I watch Tyson Fury, he doesn't have the technical sharpness of Dempsey, nor the speed nor power, but he definitely has good skill and instinct there. I would say he's the best today. His body punching is seriously underrated and he has a nice feel for how to get it done up close. Impressive stuff for a man his size.
Probably. He's really comfortable on the inside and does a lot of damage, while taking little in return. He fully knows how to use his height and weight to lean on fighters, tie them up and launch hurtful shots to their body and grill, while slipping shots they throw in return. No one else at HW has shown they can do that at a high level. Ruiz is probably second due to his handspeed and general relaxation on the inside. Whyte would be third, due to his heavy shots and good timing. Joshua isn't too bad in this category either, but lacks the mauling dirtiness of Whyte. Chisora is a decent inside fighter, but he's sloppy and one note, basically just bulling forward and throwing the kitchen sink at opponents. He lacks the craft of Fury, the speed of Ruiz or the raw power of Whyte.
I can't remember when I last saw any HW do any prolonged inside fighting, so maybe by walk over he is. I wouldn't compare him to past HW greats who proved their infighting skill against guys that actually could fight on the inside, though.
He is the best both inside and outside. He is both out-boxer and swarmer. What a freak of the nature.