A heavyweight fight 24 years in the making has finally arrived. Tyson Fury’s legacy will be defined by it

Tyson Fury says he has no interest in boxing for legacy this Sunday which could be true, or false, doesn’t matter, or not really, given his thoughts on it all are largely irrelevant.

For proof, just ask Buster Douglas.

That greatest of sporting underdogs who, over 30 years ago, inside a heaving Tokyo Dome, was fighting for nothing but the memory of his late mum Lula Pearl, a beautiful soul who suffered a stroke and died just 23 days before his dipping through those ring ropes paying 40-to-1 against Mike Tyson.

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Remember it?

Of course, you do.

Same as you remember Iron Mike.

That snarling ball of muscle who, same night in Japan, was already being hailed the Baddest Motherf…er anywhere on planet earth thanks to his own chaotic run all belts, bustle, bankroll, body bags, beauties, even three Bengal Tigers and a gold bathtub worth $2 million.

Yet you reckon Tyson, throughout any of the above, was removing men from their consciousness for legacy?

Unlikely.

Just as James Braddock’s bingo card surely never had him being resurrected in Hollywood by some fella who owns the South Sydney Rabbitohs.

Indeed, who among us could’ve ever guessed how little 57 years would dull the memory of Muhammad Ali not only beating Ernie Terrell so viciously through 15 lopsided rounds, but shout ‘what’s my name?’ over and over while taking his WBA strap.

Here was a night that crowned Ali, already WBC champ, the undeniable No.1.

A genuine legacy fight.

Understanding, sure, he wasn’t the first man to be undisputed heavyweight king.

With that honour starting not only decades earlier with Jack Dempsey, but having already been held by another dozen men including Gene Tunney, Joe Louis and Sonny Liston.

Throw in Rocky Marciano, too.

That gritty Massachusetts kid who, for the record, never went fighting for legacy either but, instead, to avoid working in that same shoe factory his old man had known for all his life.

That, and the fact Chicago Cubs scouts had also suggested his right arm wasn’t even strong enough for their farm team.

But his fists?

Yeah, they went OK.

Which is how the Rock wound up in boxing … where he went nine years and 49 fights undefeated, including seven championship bouts.

Still, even by the time Marciano was getting around as undisputed in the 1950s, there were only two belts -- NYSAC and NBA -- and fewer debates about who was king.

Indeed, in a heavyweight sense, the undisputed phenomenon only really gained momentum through the 60s with, first, Ali, then Smokin’ Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Ali again -- this time in ‘74, thanks to the famed Rumble in the Jungle -- and finally, Leon Spinks.

Then, of course, came Tyson.

That fighter around whom the late 80s seemingly orbited.

A fella who even now – so far removed from that night he went and won all three titles from Tony Tucker -- is still being used to sell big time fights (or whatever you want to call them) because of all those incredible feelings his name still conjures.

So who cares if Mike was fighting for legacy or not?

It’s never the athlete who chooses, anyway.

Instead, legacy is decided by the great unwashed.

By us wankers, as Fury so eloquently puts it.

Or at least he did this week when asked about Sunday -- explaining how legacy has nothing to do with his showdown against Oleksandr Usyk for all four heavyweight straps.

Here, truly, is a pick ‘em slobberknocker.

That, and the division’s first undisputed showdown in 25 years.

With starved fight fans having to go all the way back to that evening Lennox Lewis not only rematched Evander Holyfield, but earned a decision, $22 million and placement in the pantheon of kings.

Which is why it doesn’t matter if Fury isn’t fighting for legacy.

Put simply, he doesn’t have a choice.

Quizzed on the situation this week, that towering traveller whose rivals have included everything from Klitschko to cocaine, said he cared nought for the wishes of boxing analysts, purists and any other “wankers” screaming legacy.

Which, to be fair, is understandable.

Especially given back in 2015, and that first time he upset the boxing world to become lineal heavyweight champ against Wladimir Klitschko, things quickly went a little, err, sideways.

With the megastar having bravely opened up many times since on what would be two years of drugs, alcohol, depression, even suicidal thoughts.

Which is why, you reckon, Fury now avoids the idea of legacy, fame, all of it.

Instead, he likes to keep his goals confined to days, or even hours.

Same is when it comes to next Monday morning, his thoughts are consumed by nothing but jetting out of Saudi Arabia and back home, where he can walk his dog along the bay.

Which isn’t to say The Gypsy King has no love or understanding of history.

He does.

Big time.

With ESPN’s Mike Coppinger this week getting Fury to wax lyrical about a host of former undisputed champs like George Foreman, Floyd Patterson, Jersey Joe Walcott -- “I watched plenty of his fights”-- even Primo Carnera.

Yet for all of the reasons mentioned further above, all prizes for his own undisputed hype, should it happen, it seems, must remain simple.

“I do it for the dough,” Fury said this week. “I fight for the prize, whether it be gold bars, gold coins, cash, transfers, cars – whatever you want to pay me, pay me in bags of sand for all I care.

“As long as I can make a drink on it, deal done.”

So, um, not big on legacy then?

“I’m not too concerned about what people are going to be saying in 100 years,” he told longtime English boxing journalist Gareth Davies.

“The dust from our bones won’t exist in 100 years, never mind what they say about a boxing match in 100 years.

“We’ll all be dead -- my kids will be dead, my wife will be dead, my dad will be dead, anybody I ever cared about will be gone.”

Which isn’t exactly the most jovial of quotes from a fella famous for singing American Pie in victory.

Same as it isn’t necessarily true.

Especially considering Jack Dempsey hasn’t thrown a punch in 97 years and ... well, the bloke is still getting mentioned in far more than this sentence.

Same deal Joe Louis, who is himself 75 years removed from being undisputed king.

Which is why regardless of whether he gives a bollocks or not, The Gypsy King is fighting for legacy this weekend.

Already among the greatest human interest stories in sport, Fury now has the chance to add that greatest of accolades – undisputed – to a career already stretching 16 years and 34 fights without loss,

Sure, being dropped by Francis Ngannou last October wasn’t great for the CV.

Made worse too by Anthony Joshua then needing less than less than two rounds to remove the UFC crossover star of both his senses and any future $10 million paydays.

Same as Fury also remains off some ‘Greatest Ever’ lists due to those critics suggesting he needs more scalps then the Deontay Wilder trilogy – the third of which, undeniably, was a cracker -- and his incredible 2015 upset against Klitschko.

Yet a win Sunday, undeniably it means legacy.

Understanding that in Usyk you have an Olympic gold medallist who, after first unifying the cruiserweight division, has since moved up, won five straight and along the way claimed IBF, WBA and WBO gold.

A Ukranian warrior in every sense, the 37-year-old also went home to defend Kyiv following Russia’s 2022 invasion, before returning like he had simply ducked out for milk to continue his undefeated.

Meaning this Sunday, in the immortal words of Michael Buffer: “Somebody’s O has to go”.

Yet just importantly for the Fury legacy, this championship blockbuster will also see the Englishman face a rival who is far removed from what Ricky Hatton this week referred to as the “big lump heavyweights” of his past.

Apart from Fury standing 6’9” -- or 15cm taller than his rival – the big Englishman also boasts an 18cm reach and could weigh up to 10kg heavier, or more, when they weigh in.

None of which apparently worries Usyk, who when quizzed on all of this recently shrugged: “You never see a fat wolf in the forest”.

Which is probably true.

Same as the Ukranian reckons he sits inside Fury’s head “like a little tractor driver”.

Undoubtedly, Usyk will have a plan to upset the bigger man, just as he did in consecutive wins over Anthony Joshua where he slipped, countered and moved so well through more than an hour of combined violence.

Could he spring the upset?

Absolutely.

Just as we’ve before with Buster Douglas, or big Swede Ingemar Johannson getting it over Floyd Patterson, who would then go re-ink his name on that undisputed list within the year.

All of which simply adds to the opportunity now confronting both men.

And for proof, simply ask that last great heavyweight to know what being undisputed means.

In Riyadh this week for the heavyweight showdown, Lewis was asked his thoughts on Tyson not only shrugging off the legacy of undisputed, or of beating Usyk generally, but suggesting he cares not a bollocks about how a win Sunday will shape his memory generations from now.

For which, the ageing champ’s response was simple.

“He will once it’s happened,” Lewis said. “Trust me”.

BOXING’S UNDISPUTED HEAVYWEIGHT KINGS

Jack Dempsey - NYSAC, NBA - July 1922 to September 1926

Gene Tunney - NYSAC, NBA - September 1926 to July 1928

Max Schmeling - NYSAC, NBA - June 1930 to January 1931

Jack Sharkey - NYSAC, NBA - June 1932 to June 1933

Primo Carnera - NYSAC, NBA - June 1933 to June 1934

Max Baer - NYSAC, NBA - June 1934 to June 1935

James J. Braddock - NYSAC, NBA - June 1935 to June 1937

Joe Louis - NYSAC, NBA - June, 1937 to March 1949

Ezzard Charles - NYSAC, NBA - September 1950 to July 1951

Jersey Joe Wolcott - NYSAC, NBA - July 1951 to September 1952

Rocky Marciano - NYSAC, NBA - September 1952 to April 1956

Floyd Patterson - NYSAC, NBA - June 1960 to September 1962

Ingemar Johannson – NYSAC, NBA – June 1959 to June 1960

Floyd Patterson – NYSAC, NBA – June 1960 to September 1962

Sonny Liston - NYSAC, WBA - September 1962 to July 1963

Sonny Liston - WBC, WBA - July 1963 to February 1964

Muhammad Ali - WBC, WBA - February 1964 to September 1964

Muhammad Ali - WBC, WBA - February 1967 to April 1967

Joe Frazier - WBC, WBA - February 1970 to January 1973

George Foreman - WBC, WBA - January 1973 to October 1974

Muhammad Ali - WBC, WBA - October 1974 to February 1978

Leon Spinks - WBC, WBA - February 1978 to March 1978

Mike Tyson - WBC, WBA, IBF - August 1987 to February 1990

Buster Douglas - WBC, WBA, IBF- February 1990 to October 1990

Evander Holyfield - WBC, WBA, IBF - October 1990 to November 1992

Riddick Bowe - WBC, WBA, IBF - November 1992 to December 1992

Lennox Lewis - WBC, WBA, IBF - November 1999 to April 2000