Three fights against Deontay Wilder took their toll on Tyson Fury to the extent the WBC heavyweight is not the fighter of old.
That’s the view of a significant portion of social media detractors of Fury who see the Francis Ngannou fight as another massive dose of evidence.
Since facing Wilder in 2018, 2020, and finally, in 2021, Fury hasn’t displayed anywhere near the form he did when taking out “The Bronze Bomber” twice in Las Vegas.
In 2022, he defeated UK also-rans Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora. He followed those drab wins up with the Ngannou abomination.
That’s clearly not the kind of form Fury showed when taking Wilder’s WBC title and successfully defending the green and gold strap.
Deontay Wilder ruined Tyson Fury
Fury could have had his mandatory against Whyte [which he would have gotten a pass for] and then fought a top contender. However, he didn’t. It’s been a downward spiral for “The Gypsy King” after Wilder ruined his mojo.
Talk of Fury being up there with the best ever is firmly out of the window after Ngannou embarrassed the champion and made him look ordinary.
It’s not certain even a victory over the greatest heavyweight of his time, Oleksandr Usyk, will be able to bring it back for Fury. However, he’d had to completely lay the Ukrainian out and dominate to regain his credentials.
For now, Wilder can sit back confident that he remains the top division’s ‘taker of souls’ – as he branded himself in an epic speech after two of his best knockouts.
After laying Artur Spilka out with one of the best heavyweight punches of his era, Wilder said: “It was amazing because Szpilka had a lot of Polish fans there [when we fought]. It was incredible to hear the roar.
“He was a tricky southpaw, but I ended up figuring him out and drawing him into the corner. Then bam! It was goodnight.
“If you didn’t see that fight, go back and look at it. I took his soul out of him. I’ll never forget that knockout.”
Taker of souls
Furthermore, following his win over Bermane Stiverne in the first round, Wilder added: “This was the guy I had taken the title from. I told him I knew him like the back of my hand.
“In that fight, I wasn’t myself. I was possessed. Something had come over me. I remember the referee ended up on my back, and I was carrying him like a cape that night.”
Fury’s name can now be added to that list after his career nosedived after sharing the ring with Deontay Wilder.
Of his 43 victims, none have achieved anything of note post-Wilder. In addition, this indicates that the American slugger is the boogeyman of his time.
The views expressed in this article are the opinions of experienced boxing writer Phil Jay.
