Is Tyson Fury The Next Big Thing?...  By Ed Ludwig

When British Heavyweight Tyson Fury (16-0 11 KOs) burst onto the scene I had my doubts. From the get go he gave me the impression that he was better then he really was. Watching him develop and evolve into a very good fighter I can tell you Fury is becoming someone to be reckoned with. He backs up what he says and with each fight he gets better and better. Time and time again we have seen promoters play it carefully and try to cash in and with Fury he has been brought along just right. He is very active and the quality of opposition improves each time out.  

Initially it was Fury's mouth and not his size or skills that caught my attention but his accomplishments since then have supplanted that. For a fighter who is 6ft 9in tall he possesses very good movement and decent power. You would think it’s offence that would be the most impressive but for me but it's just the opposite. Defensively Fury moves extremely well and he can fight off the ropes and counter punch with the best of them. Fury's fight in July of this year he boxed Dereck Chisora's ears off in what was supposed to be the real test for him up to that point. There was a lot of tension between the two leading up to the fight. 

In the ring Fury kept his cool and let his fists do the talking and in the end he took a lopsided unanimous decision. Fury likes to talk, which should surprise no one who has seen him, but when it's time to  get to business he becomes very composed and works hard and doesn't get caught up in the hype or the emotion that usually comes when leading up to a fight. Over the years we have had many big and tall fighters being groomed as the "Next Big Thing" such as Michael Grant, Tye Fields and Nikolai Valuev to name a few.  

The giant Russian had some skills and was able to win a world title on two occasions but when comparing Fury to those three he is so much more fluid and not robotic and most of all he looks like he is having fun. Saturday afternoon Fury will face a tough test once again in transplanted Canadian Nevin Pajkic (16-0 5 KOs). The challenger comes into the fight with a lot of confidence and with a win over Fury this would put his name in the Heavyweight landscape. This fight was talked about back in 2010 after Fury defeated Zack Page in Canada but it fizzled out shortly after. 

Pajkic would have taken this fight much sooner but the pieces didn't fall into place until now. One advantage Fury has is that he is eleven years the junior, yet at thirty four years of age Pajkic doesn't have a lot of mileage on him yet. I do see Fury scoring the stoppage victory in the 10th round. All the talk this weekend is about the Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez rubber match and deservedly so but if you are able to tune in for Fury vs. Pajkic you will be in for a real treat. Tyson Fury could very well be the big jolt the Heavyweight division so badly needs.

The fight will air live on television in the UK and Canada and is also available on the internet. David Who, I mean Haye, are you still around?  

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