2018 Boxing Comeback of the Year: There Is Only One Tyson Fury!
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By Rich “Lite It Up” Lopez
As we close out the end of the year, it will be time to determine the fight of the year, fighter of the year, round of the year, etc. One of the most interesting awards is comeback of the year. While there will be a few fighters nominated for this, there is only one fighter in my mind that takes this award. That will be none other than former lineal heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. What a year it has been for “The Gypsy King”.
Fury was named after the great Mike Tyson by his father John Fury in 1988 when he was born. Even in the beginning, Fury already beat the odds when he was born prematurely and was only one pound. It’s remarkable he ended up being a heavyweight boxer at six foot nine. After a small amateur career, Fury started boxing professionally in 2008. As Fury moved up the heavyweight rankings, he did his job and was winning. However, I was not too impressed with him at the time and his fight with Steve Cunningham in 2013 proved that to me. Even though he did dispose of Cunningham and stopped him in the 7th round, it was not a great performance. Fury struggled against a blown up cruiserweight and Fury was also dropped in the 2nd round by Cunningham.
However, two years later, Fury would achieve his biggest achievement. He dethroned long time heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko. Klitschko had not been beaten for eleven years and finally Fury solved the puzzle. Due to Fury’s footwork and speed, he was able to give Klitschko fits in the ring. The fight itself was uneventful with each fighter landing less than 100 punches on each other. It was for sure one of the worst heavyweight championship fights in recent memory. Still Tyson Fury gets credit for the victory and ended the Klitschko express. By doing this, Fury won the WBA, IBF, and WBO belts. Most importantly he became the lineal champion.
Instead of following through as a true champion, he decided to take a different route.
Fury decided not to fight anymore and got into drugs, alcohol, and went into depression. He also ballooned up to 400 pounds. At times Fury would still call himself the lineal champion but gave up boxing. Also Ring Magazine still called him the lineal champion but you had fighters like Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua actually fighting to be the best in the heavyweight division. This was one of the reasons I criticized Tyson Fury and called him overrated. He simply was not fighting anymore.
This would all change this year.
Tyson Fury bounced back and came back to boxing with a splash. You can say Fury had two comebacks. First, he fought back against depression, alcohol, and drugs. Second was what he accomplished about a week and a half ago. Tyson Fury lost weight and won two comeback fights earlier this year which led to a big showdown with Deontay Wilder. We all know what happened in the fight and the result. The fight was a draw but we all know that Tyson Fury won. He displayed good footwork, hand speed and a great defense which gave Wilder problems in the fight. Not only that, Fury showed tremendous heart and got up from two knockdowns from the hard punching Wilder. The knockdown in the final round was unbelievable and it was mind boggling on how Fury got up. Fury did way better than I have anticipated and proved a lot of people wrong. Kudos to Fury for showing good sportsmanship after the draw verdict.
Tyson Fury is back and has redeemed himself. He is more than just talk but a real fighter. We look forward to seeing him again and most likely in a rematch against Deontay Wilder. Going forward, I have much more respect for “The Gypsy King”.
Tyson Fury hands down is the comeback of the year!
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