Boxing had been put on hold during the coronavirus pandemic, but it is now starting to get back into the swing of things. It is an especially busy time for Irish boxing, with Michael Conlan and Eric O'Donovan fighting last weekend and Katie Taylor set to follow on Saturday night.
The pandemic has also delayed things in the heavyweight division, with Tyson Fury, Deontay Wilder, and Anthony Joshua all having fights put back.
The third bout between Fury and Wilder is now scheduled to take place in mid December, although that could yet be pushed back to February. If Fury wins that one, two meetings with Anthony Joshua in 2021 is next on the cards.
That should settle the debate about the top heavyweight in the sport once and for all, but for now boxing fans will continue to argue over who holds that title. Fury himself even got into one such debate recently.
He was appearing on ESPN Radio when former NFL player Keyshawn Johnson told him that he felt Joshua was the best heavyweight on the planet. The former Super Bowl winner went on to say Fury's CV is padded by wins against 'a bunch of tomato cans'.
Unsurprisingly, the fighter did not agree.
Johnson: What if I told you you wasn’t number one and I put Anthony Joshua ahead of you?
Fury: On what merit? There’s gotta be a merit surely?
Johnson: Just because man. I wanna put him number one, I want you to prove yourself.
Fury: I don’t have to prove myself, I’m the ‘lineal’ heavyweight champion for the last five years.
Undefeated, these guys have been beat. There’s only one undefeated champion and he goes by the name of the ‘Gypsy King’.
There used to be a three-headed monster until the other two monsters got slain by the slayer. The heavyweight dragon slayer is me, Tyson Fury.
Johnson: But Tyson, what if I look at your record and say you fought a bunch of tomato cans, then what?
Fury: Listen, you can have your opinion but it means nothing because facts are facts. And I’ve beaten the only two undefeated long-reigning champions.
I’m only the second man in history after Muhammad Ali to beat two champions with more than ten defences under their belt.
