November 1, 2023
Source: Boxing Scene
Photo Source: Boxing Scene
Don’t be fooled by Tyson Fury’s surprising back-and-forth battle with Francis Ngannou. The current WBC heavyweight champ, in the eyes of many, is still the man to beat.
Of course, Fury earned his stripes after beating Wladimir Klitschko in 2015 to become a unified champ. A premature retirement coupled with long stints on the sidelines led to a few uninspiring performances. Still, Fury solidified himself following consecutive wins over Deontay Wilder.
With a showdown against Oleksandr Usyk on the table for the first quarter of 2024, Fury, ostensibly, only has a handful of years left in the game. From his eventual retirement ashes, someone will emerge to take his spot. To a large extent, the division isn’t lacking in terms of young names on the rise. Arslanbek Makhmudov comes to mind. He’s older than most at 34 but he’s undefeated, violent, and to put it in layman’s terms, hits really hard. Frank Sanchez is another one who’s flashed potential. The 31-year-old Cuban has mastered the art of hit and not get hit and believes he has what it takes to have a stranglehold over the division - even while Fury occupies the throne. Otto Wallin is another who vehemently disagrees. With the lone loss of his career coming at the hands of Fury several years ago, he has his own plans.
All of those aforementioned names have impressed Fury to at least some degree. But for his money, he’s expecting Jared Anderson to become the division's leading man once he steps away. He might be only 23, but after bringing in the young, explosive fighter in for several training camps, Fury can’t envision a world where he isn’t the number one heavyweight on the planet.
“Jared’s the man. I said it three years ago. This is the heir to the throne.”
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