The view that Tyson Fury’s best days could be behind him is becoming an increasingly common one – and even Ricky Hatton admits it may be the case.
Manchester icon Hatton has been a long-time friend of Fury, and even cornered the former heavyweight world champion in his 2018 clash against Deontay Wilder.
‘The Gypsy King’ produced one of the standout performances of his career that night, and from then began to establish himself as the best heavyweight on the planet in the eyes of many.
However, he was handed the first defeat of his career in his biggest fight back in May, when he lost out to Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed world championship in Riyadh.
And speaking to Action Network, recent Hall of Fame inductee, Hatton explained why Fury’s showing earlier this year, as well as his razor-thin victory over Francis Ngannou last October, leads him to believe his compatriot may be on the slide.
“Tyson didn’t look great against Oleksandr Usyk. Don’t get me wrong it was a good fight, I’m being a little bit unfair there, because fighters like Usyk only come along every now and again, he’s exceptional.
“But he wasn’t great against Francis Ngannou, I think he would agree with me on that one.
“We’re all starting to think has Tyson got too many miles on the clock now? It seems to be the case after the last couple of fights.”
Though Fury had pockets of success against Usyk, he was dropped and badly hurt in round nine and virtually all observers agree that he was well beaten in Riyadh, despite one of the ringside judges scoring the bout in his favour.
The 36-year-old will have the chance at revenge on December 21 when he rematches the masterful Ukrainian, however only three world titles will be on the line this time.
Should Fury manage to pull it off, a blockbuster all-British showdown with Anthony Joshua could finally be delivered in 2025, provided ‘AJ’ overcomes IBF champion, Daniel Dubois next month.
