By D. Simon - You are a twenty something year old man with a family…a contract killer by trade who puts on the kibosh when called to do so….You get a big job to kill Mr Evil.
The conditions are you work with another trigger man, we will call him ….”Smiley.” This contract is the kind of money that can set you up….as you look at that family of yours you silently determine that Mr Evil is going down! Soon enough the big day arrives, everyone is in position, when Smiley calls it off due to having a hang nail on his trigger finger. The boss likes you guys and gives you another chance and wouldn’t you know it? Smiley once again calls it off, this time for good.
This scenario describes in a different context, exactly what happened to Tyson Fury during his supposed fight to take place with David Haye.
Read on after the break, or discuss in our boxing forum.
When one wonders about the behavior of Tyson Fury, a man called arrogant, cocky and delusional regarding his skill level by some, one thing that should not be mysterious at all, is his acrimony towards David Haye. In many respects Haye represents the new school of heavyweight boxing. Talented,self absorbed, and safety conscious to a fault, Haye fights infrequently and apparently only under ideal conditions. Haye claims that Fury is easy work yet he let a minor cut stop a fight that would have been a financial success for both men.
Did Haye have the ability to beat Fury relatively easily? Most boxing pundits tend to think so. Haye, like the Klitschkos is part of the new and improved heavyweights that rule the roost these days….or so we are told. They quit fights when their shoulder is bothering them (Vitali Klitschko), they hold on for dear life instead of fighting tooth and nail inside, and in general they seem to take the easy way out at every turn, fighting horrendous mandatory challengers with little chance for success instead of young and hungry competitors that are a real threat. Is it any wonder why the last exciting heavyweight contest was a fight, i.e. a grudge match, between David Haye and Derrick Chisora? A fight that the British boxing commission was fully intent on stopping because the excitement might be too much for people raised on such a spectacle as Klitschko’s last heavyweight defense.
Since Lennox Lewis stepped down the heavyweight division has become a place where fighters avoid each other, are often touted and exposed by journeymen and in general seem to fall short of any real, lasting success. When a fighter occasionally does show potential the fighter is avoided like the plague.
The Klitschko brothers have maintained a virtual strangle hold over the rest of the division…Vlad Klitschko has become, by default, the one eyed man in the land of the blind as he holds, avoids and tries to convince others that a delivery truck driver is the most talented opponent he can defend his title against. Where does it all end?
There is a certain school of thought that believes talent is only one ingredient when it comes to creating a true champion. Put another way: was it Tyson’s power, or his desire to wreck anyone not the referee that made Cus secure in the knowledge he had found the next champion? Old school doctrine states emphatically that the well-to-do, well adjusted, educated man while fit for many endeavors, may lack the hardscrabble, chaotic and violent upbringing that makes a true boxing champion. A man brought up old school does not duck opponents. This man fights when his shoulder hurts and would sooner dismember himself than complain about a toe injury inhibiting him.
Recently Fury was asked about the science and technique of boxing and his answer is revealing: Fury considers a fight a test of wills, a chance to show who the better man is through enduring the punishment of a rival and giving it back in spades….Just what the division needs at the moment! Fighters like Fury and Chisora represent a throwback to a time when if you didn’t know much else
about your opponent you at least knew he came to fight. In Fury’s fight this weekend many wise boxing sages will point to his conditioning, the punches he took from a journeyman, etc….But Fury does things his way, and at the end of the night his opponent got knocked down four times and got up three.
How talented is Fury? This question is a red herring… Fury has already beaten good fighters. We might well ask this question when considering Ruiz, or a pre-Thompson version of David Price, but Tyson Fury has shown the ability to impose himself on guys like the Kingpin and Chisora. Fury has skills and power, he can box well and when in shape can fight into the later rounds. He also can be lethargic, careless, and vulnerable to the trickery of a crafty vet (like Cunningham). Fury is good enough to be considered a challenger by Vlad Klitschko.
Meanwhile Vlad is intent on avoiding any fight that could even remotely be considered a risk to his reign. Talent alone can only get one so far anyway. If I had a dime for every guy who hit the skids but was talented I might be writing this from 5th avenue! Michael Spinks is considered by some the most talented light heavyweight that ever boxed…yet for all his talent a young determined Tyson had him beat before the bell rung. We have young fighters coming up like Andy Ruiz, Chisora, Fury, Wilder, etc. Along the way many of these fighters will experience the cold winds of exposure a la David Price, but there is no lack of talent here per se.
Many guys talk a good game, but either have the attitude of a David Haye/Vlad Klitschko, or are not ready to leave it all in the ring. Give me a guy who takes it personally, who grew up fighting and who isn’t intimidated….A guy who may well get knocked down but who will make sure he punches back and who will not quit when he feels over matched, but instead will get angry and attack.
And its not that Fury does not have talent! Fury can move very well for a big man, he has experience as well. He punches with power and has the ability to end It when the damage has been done. But more to the point I trust Fury. I know that if given an opportunity Tyson Fury will make sure that he goes after Vlad Klitschko with a vengeance. You see….Tyson Fury does not believe in being out skilled, nor does he believe in the many technical details that people like to discuss while eating cucumber and watercress sandwiches!
All Tyson Fury seems to believe in is his ability to be the last man standing in that ring….and thats good enough for me.
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