{"id":56258,"date":"2023-10-31T08:54:46","date_gmt":"2023-10-30T22:54:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/?p=56258"},"modified":"2023-11-01T10:31:56","modified_gmt":"2023-11-01T00:31:56","slug":"tyson-fury-is-the-most-overrated-athlete-in-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/2023\/10\/tyson-fury-is-the-most-overrated-athlete-in-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Tyson Fury is the most overrated athlete in the world"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Tyson Fury is a good to great-boxer who has had a mediocre to good career. That\u2019s it.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">That reality makes him <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">the <\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">most overrated athlete in the world. He is so overrated. I don\u2019t even know who\u2019s in his zip code.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">None of this is a reaction to his <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">extremely<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> shaky victory over MMA fighter Francis Ngannou. While he looked terrible in that fight and appeared one diet coke away from being the first professional fighter to ask to fight in a rashie (it\u2019s just for sunburn I swear, says the fat guy on the beach), this position has been brewing for some time.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?id=1719106701318578370&#038;dnt=true&#038;lang=en_AU&#038;width=500&#038;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.neds.com.au%2Fblog%2F2023%2F10%2Ftyson-fury-is-the-most-overrated-athlete-in-the-world%2F\" scrolling=\"no\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\" loading=\"lazy\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" style=\"border:0;\" title=\"X Post\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">He\u2019s treated like a deity. A peer to Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Joe Louis, and the other great heavyweights of yesteryear.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">He\u2019s not.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">He\u2019s closer to a peer of Mike Tyson. I don\u2019t mean that as a compliment.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">He is undoubtedly the most talented heavyweight of his era. It\u2019s so rare to see a heavyweight like him who can switch his style mid-career and be equally effective at them both.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">But, even if he is the most talented heavyweight of his era, he absolutely is not the most accomplished.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Oleksandr Usyk is the most accomplished boxer in the heavyweight division after unifying the belts at cruiserweight prior to heading up to heavyweight and dispatching Anthony Joshua twice, Derek Chisora a full two years before Tyson Fury relegated him to a lifetime of slurred speech, and Daniel Dubois.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">That heavyweight resume alone is better than Fury\u2019s, which includes victories over the battered bodies of Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora (to cap a trilogy nobody asked for), a snoozefest of a victory over a 39-year-old Wladimir Klitschko, and two wins and a draw over Deontay Wilder. <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">All of that was prior to going to life and death with Francis Ngannou in his first professional or amateur boxing bout on the weekend.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">That\u2019s it for notable names on his resume.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">You could even argue that Anthony Joshua, with his three losses, has a better resume than Fury. Joshua has a win over an in-his-prime Dillian Whyte, a life-and-death victory over Wladimir Klitschko, solid wins over Joe Parker and Alexander Povetkin, and a win over Andy Ruiz. That is more genuine, solid victories than Tyson Fury has on his resume. <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?id=1718410172513784114&#038;dnt=true&#038;lang=en_AU&#038;width=500&#038;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.neds.com.au%2Fblog%2F2023%2F10%2Ftyson-fury-is-the-most-overrated-athlete-in-the-world%2F\" scrolling=\"no\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\" loading=\"lazy\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" style=\"border:0;\" title=\"X Post\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\" data-contrast=\"auto\">But it isn\u2019t even just the shaky resume that makes Fury so overrated. It\u2019s his prodigious lying. He\u2019s like if George Santos was a boxer with slightly fewer professional ethics. <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\" data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Fury is a liar who variously bellows that he doesn\u2019t need money and lives a simple life, will only fight for $500m, only cares about legacy, only is in it for the money and doesn\u2019t care about legacy, that he\u2019ll fight all comers, and that the belts don\u2019t matter. It really depends on the week. It seems that people seize upon the ones that make him look good and ignore his constant about faces.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">We got the most recent one in the ring after he eked out a classically shaky decision against a mixed martial artist. This one perfectly exemplifies why Fury is so overrated. He\u2019s perceived as Country Mac but he\u2019s Philly Mac, but even more delusional and in worse physical shape.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Before Fury and Ngannou had stepped foot in the ring, he finally announced, after years of ducking Usyk, that the undisputed heavyweight championship of the world would finally be contested on December 23, 8 weeks after the Usyk fight.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">It was a tight timeframe, especially for someone as chronically inactive as Fury.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Fury was asked about two days before the fight and said<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> \u201cUsyk has to fight me in December. He doesn\u2019t have a choice. He\u2019s signed a contract.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?id=1716501685189623873&#038;dnt=true&#038;lang=en_AU&#038;width=500&#038;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.neds.com.au%2Fblog%2F2023%2F10%2Ftyson-fury-is-the-most-overrated-athlete-in-the-world%2F\" scrolling=\"no\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\" loading=\"lazy\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" style=\"border:0;\" title=\"X Post\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">After the fight, sporting a nice cut and big old shiner, inflicted by an actual badass,<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> Fury said \u201cI\u2019m going to go home take a long hard rest and we\u2019ll see what\u2019s next for us.\u201d He later did another interview where he said \u201cI\u2019ll see you all sometime\u2026next year\u201d. <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?id=1718413091803709790&#038;dnt=true&#038;lang=en_AU&#038;width=500&#038;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.neds.com.au%2Fblog%2F2023%2F10%2Ftyson-fury-is-the-most-overrated-athlete-in-the-world%2F\" scrolling=\"no\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\" loading=\"lazy\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" style=\"border:0;\" title=\"X Post\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">Here are the two videos side by side.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?id=1718787107194294687&#038;dnt=true&#038;lang=en_AU&#038;width=500&#038;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.neds.com.au%2Fblog%2F2023%2F10%2Ftyson-fury-is-the-most-overrated-athlete-in-the-world%2F\" scrolling=\"no\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\" loading=\"lazy\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" style=\"border:0;\" title=\"X Post\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Obviously, what happened was that Fury went into the Ngannou fight expecting to roll through him and didn\u2019t do any training for it. He effectively treated Ngannou as the first sparring session of an 8-week camp for Usyk. Ngannou was a tougher fight than he could possibly have imagined, and now he\u2019s trying to wriggle out of a contracted date, and I have no doubt will try and wriggle out of the fight itself as he has done time and again.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Maybe he\u2019ll fake retire again but still not get stripped? Who knows. Anything is possible in boxing.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The reality of Tyson Fury does not match the perception of Tyson Fury. He\u2019s not some badass who will take on all comers. He has one great name on his resume and one or two good ones depending on how you rated Derek Chisora in his prime. This has been a good era for consequential heavyweights and he\u2019s only fought one of them; Deontay Wilder. This isn\u2019t a Klitschko situation where there just weren\u2019t any fights for him.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">There are fights, he just doesn\u2019t want them.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">There is no athlete in the world more overrated than Tyson Fury. He\u2019s perceived like he\u2019s the Martin Scorsese of the modern heavyweight division, but that would only work if Marty wrapped it up after <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Mean Streets <\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">and only made tight 90-minute thrillers with Jason Statham for the rest of his career but kept talking as if <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Mean Streets <\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">was <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Citizen Kane.<\/span><\/i><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">I bet that the Usyk fight doesn\u2019t happen. And it will be yet another black mark on boxing\u2019s increasingly blackened name.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":56264,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[107,8298,344,463],"tags":[108,3276,8260,5705,3281,3094],"hub_post_cat":[],"class_list":["post-56258","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-boxing","category-guywholikessport","category-sports","category-ufc","tag-boxing","tag-francis-ngannou","tag-guywholikessport","tag-hot-takes","tag-mma","tag-opinion"],"acf":{"md_tip_date":null,"md_tip_date_end":null,"md_market_url":"","tip_date":"31\/10\/2023","event_country":"Australia"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56258","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/37"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56258"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56258\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56264"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56258"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56258"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56258"},{"taxonomy":"hub_post_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hub_post_cat?post=56258"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}