There was once a time when the public adored Tyson Fury. When The Gypsy King defeated Deontay Wilder it felt as if he was the ruler of British boxing. Fury had the British public eating from the palm of his hand.
However, since then Fury has seemingly lost the support of the public. In his defeat to Oleksandr Usyk, it seems as if everyone has relished his defeat.
But the feeling of love for The Gypsy King has turned into hate.
I look at how Tyson Fury has gone from hero to villain.
Is Tyson Fury Cherry picking?
The biggest conundrum with Tyson Fury is his choice of opponent. It seems as if the Englishman is either fighting bottom-of-the-barrel heavyweights or elite opposition. However, it often feels whenever Fury picks his opponents there is an ulterior motive. When fighting Deontay Wilder Fury stated that he took the fight due to the contest between Wilder and Anthony Joshua not coming to fruition.
At the time Fury was out of shape and was seen as a massive underdog at the time. One could argue there was nothing to lose for Fury. He wins and he pulls off a crazy upset. If he loses he gets the benefit of the doubt of not being ready. As dangerous as the Wilder was it was a perfect PR move from the Gypsy King.
We then look after the first Wilder fight where the consensus was that Fury won the fight despite it being scored a draw. The idea was that Wilder and Fury would square off again immediately after. However, Fury went down a different route. The reason Fury decided to go in a different direction in his own words was that Wilder did not have a big enough name. The American Wilder seemed keen on a rematch and was angry when the rematch didn’t immediately take place.
Fury then went on to fight the likes of Tom Schwarz and Otto Wallin before facing the Bronze Bomber again. Whilst he did eventually fight Wilder again many questioned his choice to fight Wallin and Schwarz. Fury’s choice of opponent after the Wilder fights was even more baffling. The likes of a third Chisora fight and a fight against MMA fighter Francis Ngannou is not what fans expect of The Gypsy King.
A fight with Anthony Joshua was set to be made official back in 2021 but due to the arbitration surrounding a third Wilder fight the fight with AJ was cancelled. Some may feel it’s harsh to blame Team Fury for this. However, the arbitration was always a factor and Team Fury maintained that it wouldn’t be an issue. One of two things was at play either team Fury lied to the boxing public or Fury had a team incapable of managing at the top level of boxing.
Words over actions
Tyson Fury is one of the best trash-talkers in the game. Fans know what to expect from the Gypsy King when he takes to social media. Boxing fans traditionally aren’t fans of trash talkers but if they can back it up then there is an acceptance.
Muhammad Ali was one of the biggest trash talkers of all time but he backed it up. Floyd Mayweather had a big mouth but always backed it up. The problem with Fury is that despite his entertaining trash talk fans grew sick of his antics.
Fury has actively criticised the likes of Usyk and Anthony Joshua for not fighting him. The Gypsy King openly called the two fighters cowards for not fighting him. However, there is one flaw in Fury’s approach. He doesn’t back it up. As previously discussed Fury announced that he had agreed to fight Joshua but then went to fight Wilder.
The fiasco between signing the undisputed fight between Fury and Usyk was down to the Englishman’s antics. Fury stated that the split would be 70/30 and Usyk accepted. Which still led to the fight not materialising at the time.
It seems as if when fights involving the Gypsy King are there it’s down to Fury when the fights don’t happen. Whether it’s fights with Usyk, Joshua or Wilder there is always one man who seems to be the common denominator.
Hype
For a fighter backing up your words is the most important thing. If Muhammed Ali was getting Knocked out every fight then people would have lost interest. The same logic applies to Floyd “Money” Mayweather who was able to prove his greatness every time he stepped in the ring. Tyson Fury himself stated “There’s not one man born from his mother who can beat the Gypsy King” This hype machine is further extenuated by members of his team, especially his father.
Team Fury talks as if Tyson Fury is on a completely different level from the rest of the heavyweights. To their credit, there are members of the boxing public who fell for this propaganda.
However, performances from Fury have fallen flat recently. When the Englishman fought MMA fighter Francis Ngannou many expected that Fury would walk through his opponent. In the end, Ngannou knocked the former WBC champ down and could have walked away with the win. This fight may have been forgiven if it wasn’t for the fact that Anthony Joshua made short work of Ngannou knocking the big man out in two rounds.
We then look at Fury’s fight against Usyk. In the middle rounds, Tyson Fury looked in control and put together an excellent body attack on the Ukrainian. However, as the fight went on Usyk took over and almost put the Gypsy King to sleep in the ninth round. Despite Fury’s belief that he won the Ukrainian was victorious.
Even in Tyson Fury’s victory over Derrick Chisora the Gypsy King flattered to deceive. There is an obvious decline in the heavyweight’s performances. You cannot talk the talk if you can’t walk the walk. The illusion that Fury is this untouchable heavyweight is gone. It now seems that fans are no longer falling for the narrative being presented to them.
If Fury had beaten all his opponents with ease then fans may have accepted the image that is being painted. However, Fury’s actions in the ring don’t match what is being said out of the ring.
There is no doubt that Tyson Fury has been one of the most memorable heavyweights in recent years. He has had some phenomenal performances in and out of the ring. However, fans have lost patience. They are tired of the narratives, the circus around making fights and the lacklustre performances.
Tyson Fury has gone from hero to villain in a short space of time. Time will tell if he can get the public back on his side or if the Gypsy King has tainted his image permanently.
