Tyson Fury enjoyed undoubtedly his greatest night last weekend as ‘The Gypsy King’ lit up the MGM Grand in defeating Deontay Wilder in seven rounds.
The 31-year-old has always had the tools in his shed but utilized them all perfectly under the stewardship of his former mentor’s nephew.
Bringing in Javan ‘SugarHill’ Steward proved a masterstroke as the Kronk supremo harnessed all Fury’s superior technique and added a huge dollop of power into the mix.
It was clear Fury took a leaf out of the book of Lennox Lewis, trained by Sugar’s legendary uncle Manny Steward, by sapping the energy of Wilder at every opportunity.
At times, it was as if Lewis was back in the ring.
Setting everything up with the jab, pushing his opponent down, and keeping everything at length was certainly the order of the day.
The question is, ‘Has Fury now made himself unbeatable?’
Lewis, apart from two blips he learned from quickly, seemed so for the majority of his career. ‘The Pugilist Specialist’ was a few inches shorter than Fury, although, in the current climate, that doesn’t really matter.
Top heavyweights are taller now than they were two decades ago. This means Fury regularly comes up against opponents approaching is own size – as Lewis did.
But the tactics used by Fury and Steward in Las Vegas are so hard to penetrate for anyone. Wilder just simply didn’t have an answer.
KRYPTONITE
The one thing the American does have in his locker is a one-punch knockout, which by witnessing the tenure of Lewis is the only Kryptonite to stop Fury on this form.
Wilder has to regroup and come again, as Fury won’t be swaying from what worked so perfectly for him the second time around against the ‘Bronze Bomber’.
Again laying praise on Steward, you have to commend him for harnessing every morsel of Manny’s spells with Lewis and later Wladimir Klitschko. Domination usually follows once that recipe is added to a skilled and taller fighter like Fury.
It’s not just about being a bigger guy, though. You have to have that knowledge. And at 31, this could be perfect timing for Fury to stay at the helm for quite some time.
Even though he’s adamant he gets out of boxing after his Top Rank deal expires in three fights time, the longer he keeps this perfect storm in place it’s highly unlikely anybody halts his reign.