The road to heavyweight championship lineage will continue to go through Tyson Fury.
With the announcement of his February 22 rematch with long-reigning World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight titlist Deontay Wilder (42-0-1, 41KOs) comes so much more than an alphabet belt at stake. As they are recognized by most outlets and ratings boards as the two best heavyweights on the planet, their forthcoming sequel will restore championship lineage for the third time in the 21st century while crowning a new heavyweight king for the 45th time in boxing history.
That is, for those who’ve ceased recognition of Fury as the divisional ruler.
Much has been said about the Brit’s place atop the heavyweight mountain ever since his ring return more than 18 months ago. England’s Fury (29-0-1, 20KOs) claimed the lineal heavyweight championship—and a slew of alphabet titles as well—in his November 2015 points win over Wladimir Klitschko. Their planned rematch never materialized, nor did any other fight for Fury for more than 30 months as he battled substance abuse and mental health issues.
By the time of the final failed attempt at securing a return go with Klitschko, Fury relinquished his last remaining links to the heavyweight division along with severing all ties to the sport towards the end of 2016.
The move prompted boxing historians and outlets whom habitually track championship lineage—including Transnational Boxing Ratings Board (TBRB—of which this writer has been a member since its formation in 2012)—to no longer recognize Fury as the lineal heavyweight champions. With the decision came the second such vacancy in the 21st century, with a five-year gap running between Lennox Lewis’ formal retirement in February 2004 to end his second run as lineal champion and Wladimir Klitschko stopping Ruslan Chagaev in June 2009 to crown a new king.
Those who questioned such a coronation—pointing to Klitschko and older brother Vitali serving as the best two heavyweights in the world at the time—cawere resolved by the younger Klitschko turning away then-unbeaten Alexander Povetkin in October 2013.
Either way, the road the championship lineage still ran through Wladimir Klitschko, as is the case here with Fury, regardless of your stance to this point.
Those who’ve chosen to honor his reign for a number of reasons, going back to the late Jack Dempsey’s lengthy stay atop boxing’s most storied division, including a three year stretch where his ring action was limited to exhibition bouts while he sought to resolve managerial and other external issues.
Whatever resistance came of such recognition upon Fury’s comeback in June 2018, a new debate was sparked three fights into his celebrated return—where exactly he belonged in the division, if not at the top.
The outcome of Fury’s 12-round draw versus Wilder remains disputed to this day, with many viewers believing the brash Brit did enough to earn a win despite suffering two late knockdowns. Most placed Fury ahead of Wilder in the divisional rankings on the strength of his performance in their first fight, while then-unbeaten and unified titlist Anthony Joshua was still regarded as the top-rated heavyweight in the world.
That dynamic drastically changed six months later, when Joshua suffered his lone career defeat in a shocking 7th round stoppage at the hands of Andy Ruiz this past June. By then, Wilder had already flattened Dominic Breazeale for his ninth successful title defense, with Fury scoring a two-round wipeout of unbeaten but unheralded Tom Schwarz in mid-June.
Wilder and Fury both added another win apiece to their respective ledgers before Joshua could lay hands on Ruiz in their rematch. Wilder scored a repeat knockout win over Luis Ortiz this past November, while Fury survived a horrific cut to turn away the challenge of previously unbeaten Otto Wallin two months prior.
Joshua did enough to avenge his loss to Ruiz and reclaim his slew of heavyweight belts in the process. What he failed to do in the eyes of most boxing experts was create the argument that the manner of his revenge-fueled win was enough to completely absolve his prior defeat.
It became the perfect storm for those (of us) who care enough about true championship lineage. Barring a repeat of the first fight which failed to produce a winner, the last man standing the next time Wilder and Fury meet in the ring will once again restore order atop the heavyweight division.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox