By Ian S Palmer
British heavyweight hopeful Tyson Fury will be taking on Joey Abell of the U.S. at the Copper Box Arena in London on Saturday February 15. The 10-round bout will be aired on the Fight Network in Canada, pay-per-view in America and on BoxNation in the UK. It shares the bill with the Kevin Johnson vs Dereck Chisora 12-round heavyweight contest. Fury was originally scheduled to meet Gonzalo Omar Basile of Argentina, but he pulled out due to an infected lung.
The unbeaten Fury will enter the ring with a prefect mark of 21-0 along with 15 Kos while the 32-year-old Abell is 29-7 with 28 of his wins coming by Ko. The 25-year-old Fury said, “Abell is big and he can punch; just what I want on my comeback.” While that may be true, the problem with the American journeyman is that he’s not the greatest at taking a punch. He’s been stopped five times in his seven losses.
This will be Fury’s first bout in 10 months since he scored a controversial knockout over American Steve Cunningham last April. Fury doesn’t have much in the way of boxing skills. However, he towers over most of his opponents since he stands 6-foot-9 inches tall. He’s got pretty good power and also has a questionable chin. Abell’s not small by any means as the southpaw is 6-foot-4 himself. Fury has an 85-inch reach while Abell’s is 76 inches.
Fury’s aim is to get a rematch with fellow Briton Chisora, but other than making him some money the fight doesn’t make a lot of sense since he beat Chisora by unanimous decision back in 2011. In fact, if Fury’s hoping to become a world champion he’s not exactly going about it the right way by taking on the likes of Abell.
As Abell’s record shows, he’s got some above average power as the native of Champlin, Minnesota with 28 Kos in 29 victories. And since Fury’s chin is on the weak side this could turn into a street brawl with multiple knockdowns. Fury says he respects Abell’s power and he knows what to expect from his opponent. Fury was dropped by Cunningham in his last bout and he figures this could give Abell some confidence.
Abell has been in the ring with some pretty decent boxers in Chris Arreola, Fres Oquendo, Al Cole and Kubrat Pulev, but was stopped by all of them. Since Fury is a slow starter he might as well go after him right from the opening bell. This fight shouldn’t go the distance, but stranger things have happened n boxing. We’ve got two big bangers with weak chins, so expect some fireworks here.
Abell will have to get inside to land and he’s really got nothing to lose so should go on the attack as soon as the bell rings to start the fight. After that it’s anybody’s guess as to what’s going to happen. There are many fans who’d like to see Fury stopped, but his chin could be a bit stronger than Abell’s so it’s likely not going to happen in this fight. Look for Fury to win by a stoppage.
