Tyson Fury puts his undefeated record and WBC title on the line this Saturday when he faces Oleksandr Usyk for undisputed glory in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The showdown will crown the heavyweight division's first undisputed champion since Lennox Lewis defeated Evander Holyfield in their 1999 rematch.
Fury vs. Usyk has been a long time coming and the IBF, WBA and WBO champion, a former undisputed cruiserweight king, could test The Gypsy King like no other opponent in his feted career.
Saudi Arabia's boxing supremo Turki Alalshikh has big plans for a busy autumn to Fury's career. An October rematch with Usyk is already pencilled in. With more huge fights lying in his immediate future, we’ve ranked his five best wins.
WATCH: Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk, live on DAZN
5) Tyson Fury vs. Steve Cunningham
- Date: April 20, 2013
- Location: Madison Square Garden — New York City
- Result: KO (7th round)
On his US debut, Fury showed the resilience and powers of recovery he would have to call upon during his unforgettable fights with Deontay Wilder. Former cruiserweight world champion Cunningham had the Briton down with a booming overhand right and hurt in the second round.
Realising he was out of his depth in a boxing match, Fury brought his superior size to bear, rough-housing Cunningham and scoring with some sapping body shots before a chopping right hand brought the end in round seven.
Amid talk about Usyk before facing Chisora, Fury dismissively said Cunningham would “batter” the Ukrainian in his prime. Speaking to the Joe Rogan Podcast in 2020, he explained exactly what made Cunningham, so problematic.
“Believe it or not, this is gonna sound strange, Cunningham was the hardest fight I ever did have in my whole career, amateur or professional. The reason being he was very slippery,” he said. “The way I explain Cunningham, it was like a Conger Eel all full of oil in front of me. I couldn’t pin him down.
“He was a slick, talented boxer and I tried to walk him down using my size and power, but he was just outboxing me.
“What I’m good at – boxing, moving, slipping and sliding – I couldn’t do against Steve Cunningham because he was quicker than me. It was like he was a better boxer all round than me. I’m not gonna make any excuses, Steve Cunningham was a better boxer than me.”
😬 Would unified champ @usykaa be the toughest fight of @Tyson_Fury's career?
— Sporting News Boxing (@sn_fights) December 1, 2022
The Gypsy King clearly doesn't think so. pic.twitter.com/g5Jus4p7xy
4) Tyson Fury vs. Derek Chisora 2
- Date: November 29, 2014
- Location: ExCel Arena — London
- Result: RTD (10th round)
Fury's one-sided victory over Chisora, his third of three in their trilogy, drew both a sellout crowd to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and a lukewarm response in December 2022.
The main reason was that the previous time Fury and Chisora boxed, the Gypsy King removed any doubt over who was the superior combatant. When they met as two unbeaten fighters for the British and Commonwealth titles at Wembley Arena in 2011, Fury was a deserved winner over 12 rounds but Chisora turned up horribly overweight.
MORE: The 12 biggest all-time heavyweight upsets
A five-fight winning streak for a resurgent and refocused Del Boy heading into the rematch led plenty to believe that a Fury who had been decked by Cunningham and Neven Pajkic in the meantime would not be able to handle the real Chisora. He promptly came out boxing southpaw and put on a beguiling display in which Chisora failed to win a round before being mercifully pulled out by his corner at the end of the 10th. It was the first time Fury truly looked like a heavyweight ready to put all his considerable gifts together and rule the world.
WATCH: Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk, live on DAZN
3) Tyson Fury vs. Deontay Wilder 3
- Date: October 9, 2021
- Location: T-Mobile Arena — Las Vegas
- Result: KO (11th round)
Fury himself told The Sporting News that he ranks this as his best career win. It’s an understandable conclusion to reach and it’s unquestionably his most exciting victory. There was little enthusiasm for the third instalment of Fury and WIlder’s rivalry, which only came about when the Bronze Bomber successfully won an arbitration hearing.
The Gypsy King was victorious in the second bout having had the better of their initial draw and when Wilder went down in round three, it looked like he was going to run over his opponent. However, Wilder brought his freakish punch power to the table to floor Fury twice in the fourth and a heavyweight slugfest for the ages ensued.
“There was so much adversity to get through and at any time it could have been over. That was my best performance for guts, determination, and fighting ability,” Fury said. “It was a left hook-right hook to finish it. I remember looking at him and he fell asleep before he hit the floor. I didn’t even look at him when he was down, I just ran across to the other side of the ring because I knew it was over. The other times, I thought he might get up. This time, I thought, that’s it – he ain’t getting up from that."
MORE: Tyson Fury explains why memorable Deontay Wilder trilogy fight ranks highest as 'My Sweetest Victory'
2) Tyson Fury vs. Wladimir Klitschko
- Date: November 28, 2015
- Location: Esprit Arena — Dusseldorf, Germany
- Result: Unanimous decision
After winning his second fight with Chisora, Fury ticked over by beating Christian Hammer in February 2015 while waiting for the big one. It is easy to forget what a formidable proposition Wladimir Klitschko was at the time. The giant Ukrainian was on a 22-fight winning streak and making his 19th consecutive title defence.
The 12 rounds they shared in Dusseldorf cannot hold a candle to what Fury and Wilder went on to produce in terms of entertainment value. Long stretches of the fight could be filed under “for the purists”. But in terms of a flawless boxing exhibition, it was something else as the most dominant heavyweight champion of his era was disarmed and becalmed.
There were still fears Fury might struggle to get over the line on the cards, such was Klitsckko’s dominant presence. A couple of 115-112 verdicts felt a little too close, in truth, after Fury was deducted a point for shots behind the head in round 11, but he would not be denied.
1) Tyson Fury vs. Deontay Wilder 2
- Date: February 22, 2020
- Location: MGM Grand Garden Arena — Las Vegas
- Result: TKO (7th round)
As Klitschko found during a pre-fight build-up that featured Fury arriving at one press conference dressed as Batman, mind games and subterfuge are all part of the package for a brilliant and baffling prizefighter.
After twice climbing off the canvas, unforgettably so in the final round, to claim a draw in their initial December 2018 fight, Fury insisted he would walk forward and fight fire with fire in the rematch with Wilder. Surely this was more of the bluster with which he delighted in cocooning his rival.
Fury had outboxed the most fearsome puncher in the sport for long periods, only to almost wilt on a couple of the occasions he felt his power. As a strategy, it felt like it was pitched somewhere between admirably bold and profoundly stupid.
Crucially, Fury had changed trainers to work with Sugar Hill Steward and former world middleweight champion Andy Lee. The Kronk style honed by their mentor Emanuel Steward was in full effect as Fury boxed aggressively with punishing long shots and broke Wilder apart.
There are few more captivating sights inside a ring than the bully being bullied and the American, who had stopped every other fighter he had faced, was on the end of a sustained and emphatic beat down. Wilder went down in rounds three and five, doing well to escape from both. As Fury clattered home more punishment in round seven, the dethroned WBC champion’s corner decided they had seen enough.
WATCH: Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk, live on DAZN
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