Let me address the elephant in the room, sympathy for Tyson Fury this morning is thin on the ground.
I always love it when the Brit wins, but there are a growing number of people who follow our sport and are glad he didn’t. And you have to ask yourself: why is that?
There is a responsibility that comes with being a world champion and the way Tyson and his entourage behave in the lead up to a fight leaves me cold. It’s criminal, it’s rude, and it can no longer be excused as great combat showmanship.
Like it or not, British sports fans are still seen as hooligans in many parts of the world and the antics of people close to Tyson can’t take that away.
They represent our sport, our country, they are part of him, a world champion. Still, it gets to a point where I find myself saying, “You’re a great fighter, but you know what? This cannot continue, we have had enough.’
Sympathy for Tyson Fury is in short supply after his defeat to Oleksandr Usyk
An overconfident Fury showboated when he was nowhere near the finish line
All his showboating did was give Usyk the opportunity to step back and consider a different approach
Tyson’s story as an underdog who battled his mental demons to get back on the road to recovery and become a champion is a bestseller. It has warmed the hearts of people who don’t necessarily do boxing.
He has now made enough money for his family and all his descendants to live comfortably for a lifetime, but what is it worth when you tarnish a legacy like this?
People are afraid to criticize for fear of being insensitive due to Tyson’s mental issues. That should not excuse his behavior.
Like many fighters, he can fall into depression. You can often feel alone.
Muhammad Ali, Anthony Joshua, so many others have had to overcome it. But that doesn’t mean you drop the standards. Tyson is a smart man; he can definitely see it. No one tells him to control this behavior.
My trainer Brendan Ingle always said to me, boxing can at its worst be ‘a dirty, rotten game of prostitution’ and at its best it can be the greatest sport in the world.
Fury has lost to the man he once described as a ‘gagged, bloated middleweight’
Tyson is the entertainment, but around him it’s a money-making venture disguised as a sport.
Johnny Nelson (photo) emphasizes that being a world champion comes with a responsibility and that the way Tyson and his entourage have behaved has left him cold
He lost to the man he once described as a “gagged, bloated middleweight,” and he shouldn’t have because he gained control.
Whether it had to do with complacency or fitness, Tyson shouldn’t have let Oleksandr Usyk in after round seven.
He had great success on the front foot, jabbing, finding the uppercut, leaning forward, but he overcooked the boxing against ‘the boxer’ and put on a show when he was nowhere near the finish.
Saying, “I’m better than you, I’m in control,” only gave Usyk the opportunity to step back and consider a different approach.
Tyson’s head will be fried this morning seeing how he got clipped in the ninth round and was so badly injured.
It was worse than his knockdown against Deontay Wilder because he was gone. The referee did him a favor because his body was limp, it was like trying to hold water in your hand.
John Fury caused controversy in the build-up when he headbutted a member of the Usyks team
I told you all on Saturday that I had a dream in which Tyson told me he had won and it was under controversial circumstances.
I deciphered that when he won the fight, but I may have to refine the way I read my dreams from now on.
However, you saw the fight, it was a heart on the line performance for Usyk and the best man won.
Politics aside, Saudi Arabia’s money is the reason such big fights happen and it’s the reason we’ll see more opportunities for Tyson, Usyk and Anthony Joshua.
I know Tyson says he will accept the contracted rematch, but I wonder if it’s just words. He will be devastated by this loss.
Once he digests it and its consequences, I wonder if he’ll have the motivation.
Maybe my words will motivate him, but when he comes again I hope he does things the right way for a champion.