Return of the Mack: Take a Step Back

Return of the Mack: Take a Step Back

By Josh Wooler

After two and a half years out, Tyson Fury returns to the ring tonight at the Manchester Arena against Albania’s Sefer Seferi. The fight will be broadcast on BT Sport who are focusing heavily on Fury (25-0, 18KO) to promote a show that will also feature Terry Flanagan’s pursuit of a world title in a second weight class. BT are not alone in their Fury frenzy, almost every boxing article on a major British news outlet has centred around the 6ft 9in Heavyweight’s comeback. Whilst interest and anticipation for a fight is always a positive for boxing, in this instance, is the fanfare justified?

I’ll start by saying that Fury’s level of opponent is both expected and understandable. He has not fought since outpointing Wladimir Klitschko back in November 2015 and in that time has seriously ballooned in weight, with Fury claiming he was as heavy as 27 stone at one point in his latest press conference. For him to jump straight back in at the deep end in would be a serious risk and if he truly harbours ambitions of returning to the pinnacle of Heavyweight boxing, then he’ll need time and rounds under his belt to rediscover his rhythm.

The target for Fury has to be a blockbuster clash with either Anthony Joshua or Deontay Wilder, who will hopefully face each other to determine who is the world’s best Heavyweight at some point this year. At the moment, he is nowhere that goal. In fact, I wouldn’t expect to see ‘The Gypsy King’ challenging the division’s elite until next summer. Having weighed in for his comeback at a whopping 276 lbs Fury is still two stone away from his optimum fighting weight at the least and would need a minimum of four fights, with at least one coming against a recognised top 10 Heavyweight, before attempting to reclaim his Heavyweight crown.

My real issue lies with the hyperbole surrounding the fight which, on paper, is set to be one of the biggest mismatches to take place in a boxing ring. Fury, his fans, promoter Frank Warren and BT have not stopped banging on about Saturday night as if we’re going to see the Manchester fighter take back his titles there and then. But rather than taking on the likes of Joshua, Wilder or even a Parker or Povetkin, in the opposite corner will be the unknown Sefer Seferi. The most eye-catching thing about Fury’s opponent is his name.

So, who is Seferi? The 39-year-old Albanian’s record of 23-1, 21KO seems respectable, but it is deceiving. A career Cruiserweight, Seferi’s only previous venture into the Heavyweight ranks resulted in a 2016 defeat against a washed-up Manuel Charr. A quick glance at Boxrec shows that Seferi is ranked as the second-best Cruiserweight in Albania, there are only two. Further investigation shows that Albania’s finest at 200 lbs is a certain Nuri Seferi, Sefer’s 41-year-old brother.

To clarify, the man who was last seen comprehensively out boxing a Heavyweight legend in Wladimir Klitschko against all the odds, will be fighting the second-best Cruiserweight in the Seferi family. If that wasn’t enough, at 210lbs, Seferi is over 4 stone lighter than Fury. To put that into context, if Seferi was 66lbs heavier than his opponent, he would be facing a Welterweight.

And yet I’m led to believe that this will be a can’t-miss fight where I’ll be treated to one of the finest Heavyweight displays ever seen. The reality would be much easier to stomach if everyone just told it how it is. Instead we have to listen to Fury label his opponent a ‘dangerous fight’ while he maintains that Anthony Joshua is a ‘bum’. We have to endure cringe-inducing appearances from the ‘Wealdstone Raider’ at press conferences to drum up publicity. Even Eventim, who are the ticket partner for the event, have claimed it will be the ‘biggest boxing event of the year’ in an attempt to sell tickets, which is bizarre considering they were also the partner for George Groves’ clash with Chris Eubank Jr in February which sold out in seconds, at the same venue.

The real pity for many boxing fans is that the sport is rarely in the spotlight as much as it has been this week, and yet there are good fights this weekend being overshadowed by this farce. Over in Las Vegas, former undisputed Light-Welterweight king Terence Crawford steps up to 147 lbs to take on Australia’s Jeff Horn in an attempt to win a belt in a third weight class. Whilst Los Angeles will host an all-Mexican affair between Leo Santa Cruz and Abner Mares in a rematch for the WBA Featherweight title.

Nobody in Britain is talking about pound-for-pound star Terence Crawford’s fight on Saturday

Even in Manchester, Terry Flanagan’s contest against Maurice Hooker for the WBO Light-Welterweight title should be the most intriguing fight on the bill. Flanagan (33-0, 13KO) won the world Lightweight title in July 2015 and defended it five times before deciding to move up a division, yet is relatively unknown outside of the boxing community. There has surely been no better opportunity to give the Ancoats fighter some much-needed exposure, he has instead been reduced to a mere afterthought.

Having said all that, is the world of boxing better with Tyson Fury in it? Unquestionably.

However, it does not need him in fights where he is as short as 1/1000 with some bookmakers. What boxing needs is the Tyson Fury who upset the established order, who changed the landscape of the division and who can challenge at the top end of the sport. Until then, he should take a step out of the limelight, continue to lose the excess weight and fight his way back in to contention

If all goes to plan on Saturday night there will no doubt be a wave of hysteria from Fury’s supporters, as though the Messiah has resurrected once again. However, they should take heed from David Haye’s failed comeback. Haye, who had always kept himself in shape in his time out of the ring, returned in early 2016 after over three years away from the sport. Two speedy and impressive knockout wins over opponents with a combined record of 59-1-2 (with 49 of those wins coming by KO) led to claims that Haye was back and ready to conquer the division. Two years, two fights and two stoppage defeats to Tony Bellew later, Haye’s career is in tatters, with most agreeing that he should call it a day.

Fury could easily go the same way as Haye, there is little point in whipping up a storm before, during or after Saturday’s contest because there isn’t much to take from it. The interest and intrigue are understandable to an extent, but I’ll be reserving my judgement on whether Tyson truly is back until he’s in the ring with a live opponent. I suspect that I’ll be waiting a while.

None of this is to detract from Fury, his achievements, how he has overcome his struggles nor what he may go on to achieve. I just want to keep things in perspective rather than jumping on the bandwagon. As a fan of Fury since the days of his first meeting with Dereck Chisora, I’d love nothing more than to see him successfully reclaim the Heavyweight crown that he never lost in the ring. But with so much time away, so much weight gained and a change of trainer, I envisage that it will be difficult for him to rediscover the speed, reflexes and movement that took him to the top.

There is a certain irony in the fact that Fury had nowhere near this level of support heading into the biggest fight of his life. Dismissed as fat, a clown and incompetent by those who had probably never seen a full fight of his, Fury was cast as a villain by many in the British media and public after his historic win over Klitschko. He was regarded as fortunate, lucky that he caught Wladimir well past his peak. The popular consensus was that Fury was simply keeping the belts warm for Anthony Joshua, they were right to an extent.

All that is in the past now as Fury begins his mission to take back what he believes is rightfully his. That journey starts on Saturday against Seferi, where he can expect to be cheered on like never before. I sincerely hope this is the start of one of sport’s greatest tales, a real underdog story, but I’m remaining sceptical for now. There is no doubt that having Tyson back in the ring is fantastic, just don’t be surprised if it’s not the same man who should’ve enjoyed this buzz two and a half years ago. The Return of the Mack? Don’t hold your breath.