THE mistake people make when judging Tyson Fury on his comments – whether pertaining to Oleksandr Usyk or anything else – is that they try to view these comments as the comments of a rational, clear-headed human being. That is to say, they view them not as the thoughts of a professional boxer, for whom every hour offers the chance to lie, but as those of someone they might know, like, or find remotely relatable. The truth is, Tyson Fury and his ilk are a different breed.
They are boxers, for a start, meaning they give and receive punches in order to make their life, the very thing threatened by the act, somehow better, at least materially. They are also masters of self-promotion and, often, self-delusion. Indeed, an ability to do both, and well, is the key to getting ahead in this game; one that hurts as many men as it helps.
In the case of Fury, arguably as good a self-promoter as we have ever seen, he finds himself now, having just lost his first pro fight, never more in need of both his ability to promote and his ability to delude himself. These two things remain the cornerstone of his success, yet the major difference now is that he is being watched with narrower eyes and preaching no longer to the converted but the sceptical. This became clear last week when Fury, discussing his May fight against Usyk, said the following: “It was actually a lot easier than I thought, the Usyk fight.
A lot easier. People were saying he is a hard man to hit, but I was lighting him up.