Tommy Fury’s stock has never been lower. This weekend, when due to fight Paul Bamba, he weighed in 6.8lbs overweight, and his fight with 5-2 American was subsequently cancelled. Now, he will instead fight a late replacement, in the form of Rolly Lambert.
His career since Love Island has never got going with two potential big money fights with influencer Jake Paul culminating in nothing but hot air. Those fights against Paul could have elevated his status as both a boxer and celebrity, but instead he was portrayed as an excuse maker. His first fight was cancelled due to a broken rib picked up in sparring and a bacterial chest infection, while the rescheduled bout never got off the runway as he was refused entry to the United States of America.
Now with this latest weight issue, questions about Fury’s dedication to the sport have been raised. But what we have, or have not, seen in the ring as it has transpired is so far away from what the man himself told me when I spoke to him two years ago.
READ MORE:
- Tommy Fury talks Love Island, Tyson and becoming a world champion
- Natasha Jonas clinches the treble
- Conner Tudsbury wants to become next Manc legend
“I’ve not achieved anything. That’s genuinely how I feel. I’ve not achieved one thing that is worth talking about,” Fury said in an open and honest chat.
“Anybody can sit in the sun for two months and chat up girls can’t they? It’s not really difficult is it, it takes no great talent to do that. It takes an awful lot of talent to be a champion in boxing and not many men can do that, so if I could do that and go down in history, then I’ve accomplished something. Then I can speak about what I’ve done.”
Missed a fight bc of “broken ribs”, missed a fight bc you “missed a flight” & now you miss weight by 7 pounds!
I feel sorry for Frank & George Warren & the Fury name.
The two years since have not gone as planned, but this is still a boxer that is just 23 - and his dreams won’t have changed. The frustration of fans wanting to see a younger boxer sporting the Fury name in the ring is more than understandable, but is Tommy unprofessional or unlucky?
In this case, it seems to be unlucky.
"The weight in my contract I made yesterday," Fury said on Instagram. "As far as I'm concerned I've done my job. I've made weight. Paul Bamba does not want to fight, he never did. I'm here in Dubai, I've got a new opponent and I'm ready to go."
Bamba has also claimed there were two different contracts sent with two different weight limits for both fighters. Given the huge weight difference of over half a stone, and the fact that Fury turned up to the weigh-in rather than make his excuses, there does appear to have been a miscommunication somewhere along the line.
Ultimately, it has ended up with both fighters out of pocket, and Fury’s reputation tarnished further. Although he had x-ray proof of a broken rib for the Paul fight, it was caused by negligence in the gym, by his own admission. That is unprofessional.
2023 has to be a big year for Fury. He needs to make sure he has a series of improving opponents and that any excuses are a thing of the past. He’ll be back in the ring again tonight, but even though his opponent Rolly Lambert will have almost no notice - it could be a banana skin. He's now got even more critics to defy if he is to make it at the highest level.
