When Wladimir Kliltschko and Tyson Fury signed up to face each other on October 24 in Dusseldorf, Germany, many boxing fans felt like this might be the fight that will truly put Klitschko to the test.
Fury is younger, bigger, and has a longer reach. His unblemished record elevates his stock even higher, making him seem like someone who could potentially overwhelm Wladimir with volume and size, ending the Klitschko reign. Over the years, Fury has accumulated a colossal number of followers, and has gained the respect of many boxing pugilists.
Can Fury use his size to his advantage? Will he be able to deliver the non-stop heavyweight action that was promised? Is avoiding Klitschko’s jab something that Fury can accomplish throughout the fight?
Antonio Tarver doesn’t think so. “Tyson Fury has done a great job keeping his name in the media, but I haven’t been impressed by his boxing skills. Basically he’s all size. He has a little jab because of his size, but no power. If Cunningham dropped him, Klitschko’s going to destroy him when he touches him with his right. He talks a lot and is animated but, ability-wise, I don’t think much of him,” stated Tarver in a recent interview with WBN.
Wladimir’s right hand is indeed powerful enough to stop most rivals, no matter how big or strong they happen to be. The question of jab vs. jab remains one of the more crucial aspects of this bout. If Fury comes in and fights as all other did against Klitschko, being that he is generally a slower moving heavyweight, he will be eating those destructive jabs all night long.
Przemyslaw Saleta, a former sparring partner for both Klitschko brothers, states that back in the day, sparring partners would be hard to hold on to for the Ukrainian champions.
“It was still their first steps in professional boxing, and they didn’t understand the point of sparring. They always fought at the maximum of their abilities. With time, finding sparring partner became very difficult. One Bulgarian fighter ended up in the hospital with brain damage. I also remember there was one American, who after the first day of sparring ran away at night to the airport, and flew away,” said Saleta of the younger Kliltschko brothers and their strength.
Of course with time things change, the body becomes slower and weaker, and the fire in the heart slowly dies down. Having said that, despite the fact that over the years Klitschko does seem to have displayed diminished abilities, his power seems to remain. Only someone with quick feet and speedy upper body maneuvering could do well against the slower, machine-like Klitschko. Fury, is simply not that someone.
With Fury’s entertaining self promoting, a lot of people got excited about their upcoming fight, hoping to see one of the giants hit the canvas.
