Fury stakes a claim for a place  among greatest boxers in history

On numbers he eclipsed them all, having never lost in 33 fights with a staggering 23 of his 32 wins coming by way of knockouts, writes Leslie Wilson Jr

Tyson Fury celebrates after winning his fight against Dillian Whyte. (Reuters)

By Leslie Wilson Jr

Published: Mon 25 Apr 2022, 1:36 AM

The sporting world is perhaps the only place where race, status or money can never have an impact on the outcome of a contest.

And in boxing, the most brutal of all sports, the drama is unpredictable. Anything can happen in a split second during the course of a fight.

In all other sports, athletes strive for excellence.

But boxers fight for survival in the ring. As deep and dark as that sounds, it is the fundamental rule, where the thrill of victory is far removed from the agony of failure.

All these sentiments were in evidence at a heaving Wembley Stadium on Saturday night where two giant figures of the sport, Tyson Fury and Dillian Whyte, clashed in a blockbuster heavyweight title fight that was watched by a record crowd of over 94,000 fans.

Both Fury and Whyte are massive heroes in Britain and by the lofty standards in which they are held the fight assumed gigantic proportions.

Fury had promised his wife and mother of his six children that this was going to be his last fight. And as he told me in Dubai last month, the giant Briton went out with a bang, knocking out Whyte in the closing seconds of round six with a right uppercut that hit like a steamroller.

Wince I did as I watched the finishing blow land on Whyte’s unsuspecting jaw because I had felt the power of the man in what he had assured me was a gentle handshake, which it was not. I promise you. It felt like I was in the grip of a grizzly bear, even if the bear was smiling at me like a gentle giant.

I swore to myself that I would not shake his hand ever again and Whyte has my full sympathies for surviving, just barely, a punch that could have felled a skyscraper.

After the fight, I attempted to put Fury’s accomplishments into context. Where did he stack up against the great heavyweights of the game? Guys like Muhammad Ali, Joe Louis, Joe Frazier, George Foreman and Mike Tyson.

On numbers he eclipsed them all, having never lost in 33 fights with a staggering 23 of his 32 wins coming by way of knockouts.

At the end of the fight on Saturday night, Fury screamed to the crowds proclaiming ‘I am one of the greatest heavyweights of all time.’

He could be right.