Fury believes he can play by his own rules and remain unscathed. That?s sometimes true in life. It?s rarely true in boxing?
Say what you will about Tyson Fury, but no one can accuse him of not being his own man.
Because he?s the king of kings, the boss of bosses, no less than the heavyweight champion of the world, Fury believes he can play by his own rules and remain unscathed.
That?s sometimes true in life. It?s rarely true in boxing.
When Wladimir Klitschko was champion he fought many a Johnny-come-lately in order to keep his belts. It wasn?t pretty, as he methodically buried more men than a gravedigger at Forest Lawn. But he at least kept the title from being splintered any more than it was splintered when his brother Vitali called it quits.
But that was then and this is now and Fury, by refusing to fight undefeated Vyacheslav ?Czar? Glazkov, the IBF?s mandatory, the sanctioning body has decided to strip the newly crowned champion.
?It?s true,? said IBF Championships Chairman Lindsey Tucker. ?He?s been stripped of his IBF belt. Our challenger was Vyacheslav Glazkov, but instead Fury?s gone and signed a rematch clause with Wladimir Klitschko.?
Bad boy Fury it is. But of course he wants a rematch with Klitschko?and who can blame him? Fury wants to bring it to the devil-worshiping, water-poisoning pretender to the throne another time.
And there?s the money the fight will generate.
But there?s a more relevant question than why Fury wants to fight Klitschko instead of Glazkov. Such as, what exactly is the IBF?s big hurry? Do they want a champion all their very own? Do they need a champion all their very own. Well, they?re about to have their wish granted, at the expense of Tyson Fury, and, it goes without saying, at the expense of boxing.
Those of us of a certain age can recall what it was like to have the heavyweight title fragmented into little pieces. It was a mess, but boxing seems to specialize in making a mess, especially where power, control, and capital are concerned.
While Fury continues to put his foot in his mouth, while he continues to call out former champions Lennox Lewis and Vitali Klitschko, the small minds at the IBF have been making mischief of the most unforgivable sort.
Fury is no piece of cake, but he won the title as it?s meant to be won. But instead of giving him a chance to defeat Klitschko a second time, the IBF has ordered Glazkov to face Charles Martin for their now even more diminished title.
Hopes for an undisputed heavyweight champion are growing dimmer by the day. But hey, that?s showbiz.
And, alas, that?s boxing.
