In just his third fight during a two year period, British boxer Tyson Fury demonstrated his worth as a viable opponent for World Heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko when enforcing a 10th round retirement by his opponent Dereck Chisora whom he has now beaten on two occasions. Unbeaten Fury claimed both the British and European Heavyweight titles following this impressive victory but his eyes will now be set on wresting the WBA, WBO and IBF crowns from the Ukrainian fighter.
Fury had beaten Chisora on points in a previous bout back in 2011 and is now unbeaten in 23 fights but this contest will be remembered more for Fury switching to a southpaw stance in round two and controlling the fight thereafter with his jab. There was very little excitement and very few worthy punches thrown by Chisora but the question lingers as to why Fury chose to change his fighting style as early as the second round. He must have surely arrived in the ring with a fight plan and a swift change after three minutes suggests that his entourage were waiting to discover the early tactics of their opponent before deciding their own strategy.
As it happened, Fury opted for the more conservative approach while not allowing Chisora to breach his defences and from round two onwards, it became far too predictable with the jab of Fury consistently connecting with the face of Chisora who offered little in response.
Not that Fury will care about the nature of the fight especially after a tumultuous time during the past two years when inactivity threatened to dilute his enthusiasm for the sport. A proposed fight with David Haye was eventually cancelled after Haye suffered a cut in training and then incurred a serious shoulder injury enforced his retirement.
A broken hand suffered by Chisora then delayed the original rematch before Fury was beset with personal problems prior to another fight when his Uncle Hughie died in hospital after 11 weeks in intensive care following a blood clot during a routine operation. Tyson Fury described it as a tragic loss at the time and memories of his uncle would have been entrenched in his memory as he finally stepped into the ring to face Chisora.
Now that his heavyweight career is now back on track, a summer fight with Wladimir Klitschko is now a real possibility with the champion disposing of the previously unbeaten Bulgarian Kubrat Pulev in five rounds during mid-November. Fury proved that he can effectively use the jab in the same effective manner as Klitschko has adopted for many years and any prospective bout may be decided by the best exponent of that style on the night.
Fury will only hope that there will be no more delays as he pursues his ultimate aim of World Heavyweight boxing glory.
