Vinny’s Views: Time to Strip the Self-Professed Fat Man Tyson Fury of His Titles – He’s Already Stripped Himself of Pride!

By Vinny “Glory Days” Lucci

Something is terribly wrong with the man who would be king. Start with his name. Tyson Fury conjures up images of “Mike Tyson” and well, “fury.” You’d think with a name like that the world would be witnessing a special breed of animal in the heavyweight hierarchy but instead half the public has been shammed by a colossal fraud with an egotistical self-indulgence to brag over nothing and then like a junk yard dog bite the very hand that feeds him.

Back in late June of 2012 I was at the bar of the old Rudolph Valentino home where I played as a kid when it was abandoned for decades.

Now in its fifth reincarnation as a restaurant I ran into Vinny Maddalone at the bar with some mutual friends. Vinny was 41 at the time and sipping a coke as he was preparing to fight Fury. We made small talk over his opponent who had yet to make an impression even though he sported an 18-0 record. I wished Vinny who was a decent bruiser and a hell of a nice gent good luck. I knocked down a few Café’ Patrons wondering why a cat who is listed at 6’9” needed to pad his record with a fighter in twilight of his career? Not so secretly I wished for an upset.

Fast forward two fights and the giant is facing Steve Cunningham, a cruiserweight. It became crystal clear to anyone who knows the game Fury was being marketed to win not improve and his entire career was nothing more than a hype job. Three more fights and three more wins got him into position for challenging Wladimir Klitschko for the undisputed heavyweight championship of the world. On his entire ledger of 24 fights only one name stood out as a contender Dereck Chisora who Tyson managed to beat twice.

In my eyes Fury’s biggest claim to fame up to the point was a very promising uppercut he landed on his own chin against a fellow named Lee Swaby. Damn shame he didn’t knock himself out and do us all a favor. His one true talent is throwing his weight behind a promotion where his boorish comments and behavior make interesting headlines. Always pleased with himself in playing the bad guy his arrogance could only be matched by his ignorance of class. Fury became a stellar attraction at making a fool of himself at every pre and post-fight conference. Boxing scribes become so smitten with his bullshit the general media picked up on his verbal fodder helping fuel his career and propelled him into this undeserved shot at a champion who labored a decade in building a title run of 18 defenses. Wlad had also acquired a five defense run not counting having won the title twice. With a record of 63-3, 53 KO’s it surly looked on paper like a huge mismatch.

Fury used every press conference to jive his way into the champions head and rattle his id with doubts. You have to admire his tenacity because it worked. Fury’s first hoax was evident when they touched gloves, appearing no taller than his 6’6” foe. From there Klitschko fought beguiled in a trancelike state of pacifism. Never did Dr. Steel Hammer unleash anything in the form of retribution or even make an attempt at saving his title. He walked blindly into pity pats and taunts all night and never once let his hands go with mean intentions. Round after round passed and ringsiders were wondering if Wlad was letting him run out of steam or had he truly been duped into believing his opponent was a demon heavyweight. The champions confidence was nowhere in the Germany arena that night and nothing his brother Vitali could say to implore his brother onto victory would help.

Vitali best known for not only being a former champ himself but his blood and guts loss to than champion Lennox Lewis. Scorecards had the challenger ahead at the time of stoppage but Lennox in his last ring appearance had pounded and disfigured his face into a multitude of gaping wounds. He vehemently protested the stoppage vowing to go out on his shield if unable to stop his tormentor. Against Fury, Wladimir never indulged his brother or the public with a suitable fight and making a spectacle of himself. It was so bad regardless of scorecards you wondered aloud if he won a single round. It was my educated guess that at some point early on he was fighting injured. To his credit an excuse was never given.

A jubilant new winner was crowned and continued the taunts barely able to believe his own good luck and fortune. In the weeks leading up to the fight he proclaimed he was retiring after the bout perhaps not believing he could back up his own rants and swagger. For my eyes, it was the most boring heavyweight title fight in history. Back in the 60’s the nuns in my grammar school smacked me around harder and more frequent that Fury hit Klitschko and I know I made a better effort to defend myself! Simply put I would rather watch paint dry in a vacant laundry mat than watch a replay.

Fury was quickly stripped of his IBF title for not signing to face number one mandatory contender Vyacheslav Glazkov. Yes, “that” Glazkov! OK, you still with me here, nobody else ever heard of him either so with more belts to defend I’ll actually give this round to Fury. More money to be made in rematch with Wlad but he could have offered step aside money to hold belt in place or actually defend all titles and act like the champion he was claiming to be. This court jester was actually saying he was the greatest of all times taking the line straight from Muhammad Ali’s mouth and going one better by saying he was the superior fighter. I literally laughed so hard a tear ran down my leg.

The first signing for rematch was postponed by “Furious Fury” in late June effectively knocking off the July 9 summer date. Nobody truly seemed to care or investigate Fury’s claim of an ankle injury but gym whispers from across the pond reached the writers here as rumors flew the champ was not in shape or training. This took no stretch of the imagination as he fought for title without a single abdominal muscle exposed underneath a soft muffin top around his boxing shorts.

In May he made public apologies for outlandish video comments where he ranted sexist, homophobic, and anti-Semitic remarks like a drunk in a tavern. In August he was charged with “doping” by Ukad the antidoping agency of the UK. The 28 year old has yet to hear the charges formally in front of their board, and has not been proven guilty of any such misbehavior.

The rescheduled fight for November 28 has been cancelled yet again due to a very vague lame excuse of “medically unfit!” A further explanation was not released yesterday but moans and groan across the boxing landscape are suspecting Fury has yet to train properly and motivate himself to getting back into shape. At the first press conference to promote the ex-champion’s chance to win back his dignity Tyson decided to rub his nose in it the same way you punish a puppy. The theatrical fool stood on podium removing his shirt and grabbing his ample girth and repeating with glee to Klitschko that a fat man beat him and took all his titles. Wlad, ever the classy gentle giant has never resorted to any cheap shots in the ring or out to win or promote a fight. The betting odds have fluctuated several times with each postponement currently resting at -115 for each man. The forty year old Wlad who has always maintained the most impressive Adonis physique ever witnessed in a career heavyweight can either gain from the long layoff with a well-rested vacation or atrophy with rust.

Game over. It’s going on a year that our antihero “Furious Fury” has not seen fit to defend any of the belts that Wlad assembled over a twenty year career and defended nobly across a gauntlet of lesser men in the third longest heavyweight title reign. It’s a must win fight for Wlad as his entire career and reputation hang in the balance. A loss to such a passive out of shape bully with no visible skills would tarnish his legacy forever. It’s my contention his fearsome brother Vitali would not allow the event to come to such a pass a second time.

I’d bet dollars to donuts he scolded Wlad on the loss harder than Fury actually hit him. Still in possession of three belts that have failed to give his waist the dignity and respect that comes with being a champion I call out the organizations to back their own rules and strip the king of his belts. Long live the king. Unfortunately for Klitschko it would mean he would have to fight five separate championship fights to regain all that was lost on one laxidasical night a year ago. Having renewed a five fight contract last year it would appear to be his safest bet to regain a belt and retire quietly and pass the torch. Young guns like Anthony Joshua, Deontay Wilder, and Luis Ortiz all loom large as serious threats to take over the division in grand style. As for Fury, your act has grown old and is boring as watching you fight. Don’t go away mad, just go away!

Stay tuned…

[si-contact-form form=’3′]