By John G. Thompson: At the York Hall in London, England, Tyson Fury 12-0 (9 KO’s) of Manchester, England handed American Rich “Super” Power 12-1 (9 KO’s) his first loss on ShoBox: The Next Generation. Power had a lot of things going against him from the start. He had to “cross the pond” in traveling to the United Kingdom. He took the fight on just one weeks’ notice. He fought a 6’9” fighter with the second longest reach in boxing history, who outweighed him by more than forty pounds. He was fighting an eight round bout, never having been past four, and had only been a professional boxer for two years. And while had racked up an impressively undefeated record in that time, in reality only three of his twelve opponents possessed winning records (1-0, 2-0, 3-2-1). In short, he had only a puncher’s chance. None of this was Fury’s fault of course, both his prior opponents pulling out on short notice.
Power showed some aggression in the first round, though Fury used his height and reach advantages by jabbing and landing the occasional right while maintaining his distance. The second round was a little ugly with more holding than punching. Each man landed maybe one or two meaningful shots, and the round might have gone to Power, had Fury not landed a good right and followed it up with a left-right combination before the bell. Fury showed more fury in the third round, landing a good combination inside. The boxer named after “Iron” Mike Tyson proceeded to basically bounce Power around the ring for the remainder of the round..
Fury threw everything in the arsenal in the fourth, though working behind the jab. In the fifth Power went down after some body shots, however, referee Jeffrey Hinds correctly ruled the punches to have been to the back. Power’s guard stayed low, his head did not move, and Fury landed often throughout the round and a score of 10-8 based on Fury’s dominance is conceivable. Power indicated to his corner between rounds that he had injured his hand.
Power landed a fantastic uppercut at the end of round six, knocking Fury’s mouthpiece out of his mouth. This was the moment Power had been waiting for – to test Fury’s chin. Unfortunately, this only seemed to make Fury furious and he went on the attack, pounding away at Power in a corner. Fury pushed Power down at one point, and referee Hinds warned Fury. Fury looked for the finish towards the end of the seventh round, and Power looked exhausted at the bell. Referee Hinds looked ready to stop the fight in the opening seconds of the eighth and final round as Fury threw combinations with Power against the ropes, though Power persevered. At this venue the referee is the sole judge for the match, and so referee/judge Jeffrey Hinds scored the bout 80-72 for Tyson Fury.
The only criticism of Fury’s performance would be how low he kept his left hand throughout the fight. While it didn’t prove to be a problem against Power, world champions like the Klitschkos, with precise jabs and power punching, could take advantage of this defensive flaw. Also, at a pudgy 263 pounds, Fury might not be training quite hard enough to go the full twelve with an athletic Klitschko type, especially after looking tired in the eighth against Power. Though with Fury’s height and reach advantage over both Klitschkos, either matchup looks intriguing, once Tyson Fury gains a lot more solid experience.
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