Jess Willard vs Tyson Fury 15 rounds

I think, this may be a bit of an exaggeration!

 

According to boxrec anyway.
20 wins by KO
22 wins
5 losses
1 draw

20/(22+5+1)=71.4%

But he had 6 nws fights there too
20/(22+5+1+6)=58.8%

But you'd probably need to go through the newspaper decisions to see which should be counted, since some were closer to exhibitions.

 

Fury's first fight with John McDermott should by no means be held against him and I don't even think he deserved to win it. Go rewatch that fight and tell me how clearly unprepared he was for the fight at the stage of his career he was at... 10 fights in maybe? It should be pretty clear after about two rounds that he's in real deep and still has the resolve and adaptability to make the fight close. He clearly displayed he had better fundamentals and boxing skill, but he certainly wasn't the better fighter in the ring that night. An interesting point I'd like to make is that the referee scored the fight and I think he genuinely gets pissed off with McDermott's reluctancy to fight anywhere but with his head in Fury's face as he barely took a backward step all night, meaning both men frequently had to be separated and McDermott going into the exact same position they were Seperated from 2 seconds before. Had a judge been scoring it, I think McDermott would have got the nod.

Say what you want about McDermott, I watched his two performances against Danny Williams, who rightfully deserved the nod in a razor close second fight, but probably shouldn't have had his hand raised in the first bout, which also a very close contest. These two performances pretty much solidified him in the top 3/4/5 heavyweights in the country (Skelton had just lost to Chagaev at this time, but had a legit claim as the best in Britain still and Sprott and Harrison were still kicking it). We're not talking about a top caliber fighter here, but considering this was what, Fury's 10th fight? I'd say even if you want to view it as a losing effort, which is 100% justifiable, he should be given s lot of credit for his performance... Especially considering how he improved and made the necessary adjustments to stop McDermott in the rematch.

 

Yes this is fair. Fighters at the stage Fury was at can afford a loss. Generally It is how a fighter fares once he makes the grade that counts. However, if a fighter is being boosted as some dominant twinkle toes boxing master who is entirely absent of well known bloopers I feel it is entirely permissible to remind folks of such lumbering efforts where he was fortunate to get a decision.

So held against him, generally speaking no. Not unless perspective is required.

 

I'm not trying to humour you or anyone else, but does that not sound like Ali? People want to compare Fury to Willard here, but the truth is, he's as close to Willard as he is to Ali after Sonny Liston I.

 

I think that is a matter of opinion. Fury could just as easily be as close to Willard after Willard also beat an ageing champion.

 

Yer, you're right. I think the correct placing of the word 'could' would have made my statement stronger