By: Sean Crose
“This is a message for Derek Chisora,” WBC and lineal heavyweight champion Tyson Fury says on a video that appeared on social media Friday morning. “I’ve just seen that you said you think AJ would blast me out.” Fury is referring here to his former opponent Chisora’s recent assertion that he “would go with AJ (Anthony Joshua) to beat Fury. AJ’s power punch is unbelievable.” Fury, who has beaten Chisora twice, makes it clear in the video that he isn’t buying his old foe’s line of thinking.”
“Never in a million years,” Fury says in response to Chisora’s comment, “If the biggest puncher in history couldn’t blast me out, and Wladimir Klitschko couldn’t blast me out, a big old body builder can’t blast me out, my friend.” Fury won the majority of heavyweight title belts off Klitschko in a 2015 upset. Fury’s presumably referring to the thunderously hard hitting Deontay Wilder, who he’s beaten twice, when he speaks in the clip of “the biggest puncher in history.”
“He ain’t got the bottle to fight Usyk again,” Fury continues, though it’s unclear whether he’s referring to Chisora or Joshua, as both men have lost to Usyk by decision. ” Usyk will smash him next time properly,” adds Fury. “Never mind beating him on points, he’d knock him out.” Needless to say, Joshua is on the road to facing Usyk for the second time in the hopes of regaining the title belts he lost to the Ukrainian, while Chisora was last seen losing for the second time to Joseph Parker last December. With that in mind, Chisora is regarded as a respected veteran who has faced a whose who of top talent. In 2012 he made an unsuccessful attempt to wrest the WBC belt from Vitali Klitschko.
As for Fury, he’s riding high after winning his third fight with Wilder last autumn. The first match between the two men ended in a draw back in 2018, while their 2020 rematch saw Wilder’s corner throw in the towel in the seventh. The third and final battle saw Fury knock Wilder out in what could only be described as an instant classic that saw both men hit the mat repeatedly.
“But listen,” Fury says in the clip, “it only takes one man like me, there’s only ever been one man on these shores to be called the Gypsy King, aka Tyson Fury.”
