By: Hans Themistode
Understanding when to leave a sport that you have been playing since you were a kid is difficult. In the case of boxing, not only is it difficult, but it is also dangerous.
Just take a look at some of the greatest to ever place up a pair of gloves and you’ll find that most of them overstayed their welcome. Roy Jones Jr was once considered the best boxer pound-for-pound. Yet, after fighting until he was nearly 50 years of age he effectively spent nearly 15 years too long in the sport of boxing. There are countless stories such as this one.
When it comes to Lineal Heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, he seemingly has no interest in sticking around the sport for much longer. In fact, not only does he not intend on having a long career, he predicts that he has three fights left. There’s no need to sit down and predict who Fury is targeting, he revealed his wishlist in a recent interview
“I’ve got three more fights left,” said Fury. “I expect Wilder next then, Joshua then Dillian Whyte.”
Fury of course, is already scheduled for the first of his supposed final three contests of his career against Deontay Wilder (42-0-1, 41 KOs) on February 22nd at the MGM Grand, in Las Vegas Nevada. If this contest will be even half as good as their 2018 encounter then the fans are in for something special.
With Fury naming Wilder and unified champion Anthony Joshua, it really came as no surprise. The inclusion of Dillian Whyte on his list however, was a bit perplexing.
“He’s been mandatory for I don’t know about 2,000 days and he hasn’t had a world title shot so when I beat Wilder I’ll give him a shot, so he deserves a shot.”
Whether you like Dillian Whyte or not, he is absolutely one of the best Heavyweight contenders in the world.
The list of fighters that Fury intends to end his career with is an impressive one.
While there is little to criticize his Fury over his list over, there is one name that is seemingly absent from it. Oleksandr Usyk spent the majority of his career at the Cruiserweight division, winning every title and becoming the undisputed champion. The first since hall of famer Evander Holyfield.
At the moment, since moving up in weight, Usyk holds the number one ranking in the WBO. Just about everyone believes that he is a real contender in the division, but don’t count Fury amongst those who have continuously sung his praises.
“Usyk is a no name. He doesn’t make any money so why would I want to fight him for? He’s a small Cruiserweight and he doesn’t speak good English. I want the big fights that people are interested in and that ain’t one of them. Still it won’t be a big fight. He’s a foreigner in a westernized world.”
It might be disappointing that Usyk won’t get his shot at the Lineal champion but then again, there is a long list of great fighters that won’t get their chance either. If Fury stays true to his word and not only sticks around the sport for three more fights but also beats everyone that he mentioned then he’ll walk away on top of the world. But it’s much easier said than done.
