Frank Warren took issue with suggestions made about Tyson Fury’s legacy following his defeat to Oleksandr Usyk
Frank Warren has insisted Tyson Fury has nothing to prove after questions about his legacy. The Gypsy King suffered the first defeat of his professional boxing career in his undisputed bout with Oleksandr Usyk earlier this month.
He was on the wrong end of a split-decision which divided opinion, and the pair are set to rematch in December. But Warren has rubbished suggestions that Fury needed to take the fight to restore the impact he’s had on the sport.
In a rant on BoxNation, his promoter said: “The result is what it is, you can’t change. But Tyson then to be said that the first bit of adversity he has in his life, that he’s got to now take the rematch otherwise he won’t be considered to be basically a good fighter if he doesn’t face up to that.
“Adversity? He’s come through all those mental problems. He went to Germany and beat [Wladimir] Klitschko in front of his adopted country at the time. He got off the floor, having taken a fight where he was a big underdog [against Deontay Wilder], lost a lot of weight against the hardest punching heavyweight out there.
“That last round, how he got off that floor, because I thought it was all over and everybody in the world did, I don’t know. The third fight he had with Wilder on the floor twice, gritted his teeth, got up, and then the fight you’ve just watched a couple of weeks ago, which was an absolute classic of a fight between two great gladiators.
“What has he got to prove, that he’s not a fighter? I mean, it’s just ridiculous to even say that. I just found that just a stupid comment to make and I just don’t get it.”
Warren took issue with those questioning Fury’s capabilities, calling out those who criticised him and reiterating that the result wasn’t a landslide to Usyk. “And at the end of the day, Tyson doesn’t have to prove anything to anybody,” he continued.
“He’s been a great fighter. [A defeat] don’t take away your credentials as being a great fighter. He’s been the best heavyweight of his generation up until the 18th of May when the other man got the result.
“And everybody now correctly is saying, Usyk is the best heavyweight of his generation, because I said whoever wins that fight is the best of his generation. But it was that close. It was a split decision. So what, Tyson now is a c*** fighter? Stupid remarks. Absolutely stupid.”
Warren name dropped talkSPORT’s Simon Jordan, who he got into a blazing row with last week over Fury’s post-fight behaviour, as one person who had rubbed him up the wrong way as he sought to defend his fighter – citing his bipolar diagnosis and urging him and others to educate themselves on it.
