Tyson Fury is a pretty unique character.Certainly it’s true to say that he has grown on me over the years. I don’t mind admitting that I never really ‘got’ him from a boxing point of view.
His boxing style never really resonated with me, that is until relatively recently.
But, putting the boxing skills to one side just for a moment, I think there is a bunch of other stuff that I’ve come to admire massively about Tyson Fury.
So, the 5 Fearsome Factors for Fury are a bit unique, much like the man. In fact, I think that the first 2 fearsome factors are aspects that we can all learn from.
So, the Tyson Fury Fearsome Factors are:
- Mental Strength
- Ability to Grow
- Tactical Nous
- Varied Footwork
- Upper Body Dynamism
#1 – Mental Strength
Tyson Fury has mental strength in abundance. He has self-belief that even by the standards of professional boxers is something to behold. He believes he is here for a greater purpose, a calling, that he can only be here to be the heavyweight champion of the World.
What has really impressed me is the honesty, frankness and openness with which he approaches life. He battles depression, which along with everything else he seeks to achieve in life, requires huge levels of mental strength. He talks openly about that battle and you can see that he is genuine in wanting to help others who face the same battle.
I actually believe that this mental strength translates and provides a basis for incredible physical endurance. Take that knockdown in the first Deontay Wilder fight. I have never seen anyone go down like that…and get back up. It was ridiculous. So absolutely, first on the list of fearsome factors is the man’s mental strength and resilience.
#2 – Ability to Grow
I have a theory that because relatively speaking there are not as many competing heavyweights as there are for example welterweights, that it can take longer for heavies to to develop…relatively speaking. So, speaking personally I shouldn’t be surprised with my thoughts here.
I think that the development and transformation in the Fury style from the early days in 2008 to 2020 has been remarkable. He has honed lots of aspects of his boxing style – which I will cover in the next 3 fearsome factors).
Fury clearly has a growth mindset. He clearly feels that he can always learn, can always find new ways of enhancing his abilities and behind the facade of braggadocio is actually very humble when it comes to his training and skills development. That is a key ingredient of champions.
#3 – Tactical Nous
Tyson Fury’s tactical awareness is about as effective as it gets in heavyweight boxing. Without making a direct comparison, I believe on this single aspect that we should be talking about Tyson Fury in the same sentences as Muhammad Ali.
Take the Wilder fights. In fight 1 he’s mobile, he’s using the whole of the ring, constantly repositioning and providing rear-foot threat. In fight 2 he’s firmly on the front foot, dominating the ground and using his range of punching to prevent Wilder from bringing his big shots to bear.
In an early fight with a southpaw called Joey Abell, he shows excellent awareness of the southpaw weak spot with a jab, lead hand hook whilst shifting left (into the safe zone) and then dropping Abell with a peach of a straight right.
Tyson Fury’s body punching, for a tall man, is outstanding. Lots of his early stoppages were with body shots, switching from head to body with excellent hooks. And as for his rough house/dirty tactics, they are second to none…let’s face facts, the heavyweight ring is no place for the faint-hearted when it comes to rough-housing.
#4 – Varied Footwork
When we refer to footwork, people often think that we mean dancing, showboating if you like. That is not what I mean though. With Fury, and the true boxing operators, it’s all about positioning. Fury often fights from a relatively narrow stance, but this does not stop him from being in the right place at the right time.
He is able to carry real threat on both the front and back foot, can maintain range to suit his needs and seems to switch stance with relative ease. You can tell that southpaw is not his natural stance (his lead hand elbow flared slightly when using multiple jabs), but he knows how to use his southpaw stance, dominating the ground to his right.
On a final point, the jab, push out and in then one-two that effectively ended the 2nd Wilder fight was straight from Tyson’s training as an amateur. It is a staple and he executed it more like a lightweight than a heavyweight, a truly excellent finish.
#5 – Upper Body Dynamism
This is the technical characteristic that I think sets Fury apart. He is hugely active from the waist up. Constant feints, slips, body feints, trigger jabs. When he’s not feinting he’s firing, and when he’s not firing he’s feinting. Boxing is a pressure business, and Fury perfectly embodies this with his upper body dynamism. He makes it happen.
So there it is, my 5 fearsome factors of Tyson Fury. Certainly for me the greatest British-developed heavyweight of all time. Of course the challenge to this position might be Lennox Lewis who is British, but who was developed by the Canadian amateur boxing system.
Cheers
Fran
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Completely agree. He’s never going to win any prizes for prettiest fighter to watch but he is one of the most effective, intelligent fighters I have ever watched. His ability to make fighters look clumsy and, quite frankly, foolish is incredible. He literally imposes himself on a fight in a way that forces his opponent to fight HIS fight. I can only assume that he is absolutely meticulous in his training camps and he comes out with an absolutely cast iron plan, which he executes incredibly well.
Agreed Luke. The boxing brain is very often the differentiator in big fights, and Fury certainly has a boxing brain. Thanks for your comment
I felt exactly the same way about Fury as you Fran and, like you, with the metamorphosis he seems to have gone through, he has come out a butterfly. I wouldn’t put him in the same class as Ali, although I understand the analogy you made. I don’t think there’s any doubt that Fury is the most skilled heavyweight on the scene today and that Joshua is in for trouble facing Fury. But I don’t believe any of the current crop of heavyweights would have stood up against Lennox Lewis in his prime. His entire pro career was a British heavyweight champion so I think it’s really semantics that he was weaned through the Canadian Amateur boxing system. To me, Lennox Lewis, like Larry Holmes, didn’t get the due he deserved. When you look at a young Lewis, Wow! He had the speed of Ali and was bigger and more powerful.
Agree on Lennox Pug, fantastic fighter right from the outset. Versatile, powerful, fast and smart. Agree on him being British of course, but back then I don’t think the British amateur boxing system could have produced a Lennox. But yes, definitely a Brit 😀
Late to the party but I’d like to see a video on Lewis (unless there’s one I’ve missed). I’ve watched him try to explain things and he’s clearly intelligent but not always the best communicator.
It’s a great suggestion actually Michael. I saw a video of him demonstrating a jab, it was really good. I will make a note.
I think I know the video you mean. He had a jab with the palm facing upwards. It’s a little awkward at first but it works great when you have a feel for it.
That’s the one Michael