Has The Now Mythical Skillset Of The Gypsy King Been Vastly Overstated & Blown Out Of Proportion?

First watched Fury in the 2008 ABA finals as a raw amateur. People always said he was a ko waiting to happen however every fight since turning pro he improved. He's a great example of the development of a fighter. Skill set to one side, he is a game fighter, has heart. He unofficially lost the 1st McDermott fight but didn't give a bad performance by any means. He has continued to improve all the time. Without doubt his movement for a man of his size is kinda freakish.

Usyk is the better all round fighter, he's a special fighter. Tyson is a very good fighter and head to head Fury has many advantages over Usyk and I will make him favourite if they box.......for now.

 

There is a good argument that Fury looks fast on his feet etc relative to the slow-as-molasses and - in the main - less than elitte level of comp he faced.

Aside from Wlad and Wilder (who's skills don't really pay the bills), Fury hasn't really fought anyone who would look faster or more skillful than him.

So what will be most interesting to me if/when they fight will be:-

• How does Fury deal with the - possibly signifcantly - faster man
• How does Fury deal with someone who doesn't bite on his 'herky-jerky' feints but instead is always a step or 2 ahead in the chess match?
• How does Fury deal with an opponent who sets the tempo of the fight and is proven at establishing their own rythym and neutralizing his opponents?
• How does Fury's stamina fare in the championship rounds when Usyk goes through the gears and takes his opponent in to deep waters?

Hugely intriguing, and we will really see if Fury's skillset is bona-fide, or he's been made to look better than he is by the relative level of competition.

 

This is bait

 

Probably less .1 percent of men are 6’6 or over.

Less then 1 percent of men or boys are in boxing clubs.

Less then 1 percent of boxers have great skill sets. .1 divided by 100 equals .001 divided by 100 equals .00001.

Enjoy watching Tyson Fury box while it lasts

 

And to answer the OP question, Fury has a very impressive skill set for a man of his size. There are a lot more skilled fighters in boxing but none his size which makes him unique.

Usyk has an overall better skill set than Fury but he's a different physical specimen.

 

I had to stop when you called Wlad a counter puncher. Wlad has never been a counter puncher, he's well known for always wanting to lead in an exchange. Cmon now.

 

Great post

 

Very good synopsis of Furys skill level and level of opposition. Opens up some good conversation in here.

Couple things first. Fury lovers constantly diminish Wilder...he's a bum, he has no boxing skills, fought nobody...yet when Fury beats him (only once, so far), it's considered an achievement comparable to landing on the moon. You can't have it both ways, I say.

Secondly, his speed is always conditional on A MAN HIS SIZE. How about "for a human being"?
Does he have faster hands than even Andy Ruiz? Nope. Better footwork than even Usyk? I would say no.

IMO, bottom line is, outside of the Wlad victory (one of if not the worst HW title fight to watch in history), Fury has fought absolutely no one of a high level. No one. Putting in in a top 10 HW all time is laughable; you have to judge a man by the level of the boxers he has defeated or at least fought against.

If....IF...Fury was to beat Usyk and Joshua then you can say he defeated some very good boxers ( includingWlad), the best of his time, which is all he can do. But beating a litany of C levels and Wilder 2X doesn't get you into boxing Olympus.

 

Fury's main issue is lack of consistency and motivation that much is evident. He's a very unpredictable individual who's a total wild card and so his level of performance can fluctuate wildly.

He is obviously skillful, show me another big man with his head movement and he obviously knows how to use his size. But if anyone can out box Fury it's Usyk, his ability to take away the jab, something Fury does rely on and his movement will no doubt pose Fury problems.

Can Fury get motivated enough for Usyk, he's been looking at AJ as a prospective opponent since his return and in some ways this fight isn't as big as Fury/Joshua, if he has an off night it wouldn't shock me if he loses the first fight but wins a rematch.

 

Fury isn't nearly as skilled as Usyk, no matter how people wanna see it. Usyk's amateur pedigree led to an incredibly versatile and intelligent boxer who has the capacity to hand craft advanced, opponent specific strategies and then make back-ups on the fly. His actual skillset is amazing and I loved watching how he stayed inside Joshua's punching range but positioned himself to where Joshua didn't feel confident committing. He also often let Joshua step to the outside position and used that experience advantage to take away his jab and tricking Joshua into thinking he was doing the right thing. Constantly landing his own jab and backhand was lovely too

Anywho, despite an excellent OP, the general statement of which I agree with, I think it goes roo far with the "stripping". I certainly don't think it's fair to strip away Fury's win over Klitschko by summing it up as "oh he was bigger so it doesn't matter". Fury showed he knew exactly how to out-do Wlad at what Wlad does best. His use of weird feints, postures and body language made Wlad **** the bed, and then when Fury took his jab away Wlad lost his ability to win rounds. Plus, IMO, being able to impose your size and change your style so regularly is a great tactical skill as it involves knowing hundreds of little technical skills.

But yeah, Fury's skills have been and always will be overrated. Beating Wilder doesn't change that. And I wasn't one of those people who decided Fury was an all-time great because he beat someone who I knew was nothing more than a hard-hitting bum years beforehand.

 

solid post

 

Fury is an interesting case in an all-time H2H sense. He's kryptonite to the super heavies because of his mobility, yet I think in the triangular nature of styles make fights he'd fare worse against the smaller HWs of the past than big men like Wladimir.

He's vulnerable against anyone who is more agile than he is, which is why he has looked weaker against Cunningham and Wallin and in control (for the most part) against Wilder and Wladimir.

 

Great thread. Fury is a difficult one to gauge. He looked like a razor sharp machine against Wilder, in the second fight. He’s looked inconsistent at times and the fight with Klitchko was hard to watch but he executed the right game plan to win. There is no denying his size, the way he moves, ring IQ and his chin. The Wilder shot he got up from was historic. I just hope he can show the same dominance against fighters more skilled than Wilder.

It would be great to see him fight USYK and AJ if he beats Wilder. I’m a Fury fan and hopes he maintains the same commitment and discipline because he makes HW boxing more interesting.

The hype for Fury has been a little overblown but that’s the nature of boxing. If he KOs Wilder again or in more dramatic fashion, the hype will reach a new high. I just hope he gives fans a chance to see him in against the other top guys. The size difference between Fury and Usyk is going to be insane to watch. Even more dramatic than AJ Usyk. And Fury uses his size better than AJ. I don’t recall seeing anything like it. Hollifield Foreman was dramatic but Fury dwarfs Foreman. I hope Fury fights frequently and stays on top until he retires. He’s fun to watch.

 

You can't separate skillset from stature though. You can't say "what about if he was a 5'8" welterweight?". If he was a 5'8" welterweight he would probably use a different style. He uses the style that he does because of his size. Those two are connected and can't be separated. Does he have the best skills in the world? No. But his skillset paired with his body, and knowing how to leverage it makes him the hardest person to deal with in the world.