Fury looked leisurely and antique at times, fighting a restricted and equally leisurely fringe opponent that suggested he was no longer up to the level of current champions, top contenders and even some of the lower-ranked names in the division.
“I was watching this version of Tyson on Saturday night and I thought, this version of Tyson beats 70 or 80 percent of the fighters in the world. Do I look at him and think this version of Tyson can become world champion again? No,” Nelson said on talkSport Boxing.
Nelson was definitely behind schedule to this party, although he finally said what many of us have seen since the near-disaster against Francis Ngannou.
For a decade, Fury was at the top as the heavyweight division was largely stagnant, dominated by aging champions or one-dimensional, high-powered fighters who lacked the versatility of the current class.
Once you strip away the charisma and “Gypsy King” personality, your resume really starts to look frail by today’s standards. Fury collected his best wins against 39-year-old Wladimir Klitschko, Deontay Wilder, Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora.
The heavyweights currently at the top, Moses Itauma, Richard Torrez Jr., Agit Kabayel and Oleksandr Usyk, represent a shift toward massive, amateur technical aggression that Fury simply didn’t have to deal with.
“Why is Tyson fighting again? I don’t know. It’s not about the money. It’s not about the glory because he’s a very notable man. He has fame, fortune. What does he want? He wants more,” Nelson said.
Nelson is essentially describing a guard shift. Fury can still beat 70% of the Jermaine Franklins in the world, but against the WBA/WBC/WBO elite of 2026 he looks like a latecomer. He spent a decade fighting in a bubble, and now that the bubble has burst, the lack of depth in his historic opposition is being revealed in real time.
“Sometimes you want to quit a sport before the sport quits you. I think Tyson will put himself in a position where the sport will quit him,” Nelson said.
Nelson ignores the very obvious financial and ego driven Final Boss tour that Fury is on. What Nelson doesn’t understand is that the guy who overcame the frail era is now too antique to be powerful.
Now that the flawed group of Chisora, Whyte and Wilder has cleared up, Fury must face the reality that his height and frame no longer negate the modern defender’s technical proficiency.
Olly Campbell is a boxing journalist covering this sport since 2014, providing reports from the ring and technical analyzes of the most vital fights. His work focuses on fighter tendencies, tactical adjustments and the details that shape high-level competition.