Boxing’s politics mean there are a bevvy of top heavyweights fighting for world champion – but Tyson Fury says there an only be one king.
And 2021 may yet crown an undisputed heavyweight champion of the world for the first time since Lennox Lewis ruled back in November 1999.
The road to undisputed
WBC, Ring magazine and lineal champion Fury (30-0-1) is preparing to face IBF, WBA and WBO ruler Anthony Joshua (24-1) for all the marbles, hopefully in July. The winner will literally take all.
Outside of the Fury vs Joshua feud, there are other stars hoping to gatecrash the party – including former WBC king Deontay Wilder, ex-cruiserweight champ Oleksandr Usyk and ‘The Body Snatcher’ himself Dillian Whyte.
‘The Gypsy King’ posted on Twitter this weekend to reference the battle for undisputed, with an epic montage of the five warriors. Fury himself was in the forefront draped in the WBC belt. The caption simply read ‘Tyson Fury – There Can Only Be One King.
there has only ever been 1.@Tyson_Fury @BronzeBomber @DillianWhyte @anthonyjoshua @usykaa pic.twitter.com/QO5XwO7xnH
— TYSON FURY (@Tyson_Fury) April 3, 2021
The powerful image illustrates the strength of boxing’s marquee weight class right now. It is booming in a way it hasn’t for years – arguably since the likes of the aforementioned Lewis, Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield were still in meaningful action.
What happens after Fury vs Joshua goes down is equally as tantalising, with so many questions to be answered:
- Can Wilder recover from that destruction at the hands of Fury last year to again become feared at elite level?
- Can Whyte finally claim that world-title shot and reach the top of the mountain after such a long wait?
- Does Usyk have what it takes to reign at heavyweight like he did at cruiserweight?
- Can Andy Ruiz Jr reproduce the form which saw him stun Joshua in June 2019?
- Can Joe Joyce walk through the opposition right to the top of the heavyweight tree?
All questions which we hope will be answered in the next 18-24 months. It promises to be quite the ride – buckle up and enjoy!