By Ian S Palmer
Unbeaten heavyweights Tyson Fury of Manchester, England and Tom Schwarz of Germany will get it on at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada this Saturday, June 15th. The 12-round bout can be seen in the USA on ESPN+ and ESPN Deportes. Fans in the UK can catch the action on BT Sport Box Office.
Fury last fought in December when he was decked twice en route to a draw with WBC Heavyweight Champion Deontay Wilder. Schwarz was last in the ring in March when he stopped Kristijan Krstacic in the second round to retain his WBO Inter-Continental Heavyweight Title.
The 30-year-old Fury looked impressive for the first time in his last three outings against Wilder as he was terrible when he stopped Sefer Seferi after the fourth round last June and in his 10-round decision over Francesco Pianeta two months later. He did what he had to against Wilder, but his questionable chin possibly turned a victory into a draw. Other than his bout against Wilder, Fury has achieved one moment of glory as a professional boxer though and that came in November of 2015 when he upset Wladimir Klitschko by unanimous decision to win the IBF, WBO, IBO, WBA and lineal world titles.
He was then stripped of the belts and suspended for drug use, but does lay claim to the lineal heavyweight crown. Fury is one of the bigger heavyweights out there as he stands 6-feet-9-inches tall with a wingspan of 85 inches. He enters the ring with a mark of 27-0-1 along with 19 Kos and has 172 rounds under his belt since turning pro in 2008. He has better-than-average power, at least on paper, with a current knockout ratio of 68 per cent. Fury possesses some good, but awkward and unconventional boxing skills and also been been dropped by Steve Cunningham and Neven Pajkic.
Fury’s biggest win was obviously against Klitschko, but it was a terrible fight for the fans and Klitschko basically gave his titles away by not engaging with Fury. Other than that, Fury has beaten some pretty good journeymen along the way such as Pianeta, Christian Hammer, Dereck Chisora (twice), Joey Abell, Cunningham, Kevin Johnson, Marcelo Luiz Nascimento and Vinny Maddalone. Since turning pro after a fine amateur career, Fury has also captured the English, Commonwealth, British, Irish, European, WBO Inter-Continental and WBO International Heavyweight Titles.
The 25-year-old Schwarz is a relative unknown outside of his homeland and the rest of Europe. He carries a perfect record of 24-0 however with 16 by the way of KO. He’s also a pretty big guy as he stands just over 6-feet-5-inches tall but unfortunately his reach is unlisted. He’s also got pretty good power with a current knockout ratio of 67 per cent and has stopped five of his last six opponents with the other win coming by way of disqualification. He hasn’t really beaten anybody of note though as he’s fought the likes of Senad Gashi, Christian Lewandowski, Adnan Redzovic and Ivicia Bacurin.
The German turned pro in 2013 and has fought 89 rounds since then. Schwarz captured the vacant WBO Youth Heavyweight Title in November of 2015 and defended it twice while adding the vacant WBC Youth Heavyweight Crown. Along the way he’s also won the WBO Inter-Continental Heavyweight Belt and defended it four times. Schwarz isn’t that well known, but he has skills, size and power while lacking the mobility of Fury.
Prediction…
Fury utilizes his style and size advantage since he’s typically at risk if he stands and fights due to his chin. In a way that’s help him perfect his movement and boxing skills. Realistically, Fury’s always taking a chance because he’s not the greatest at taking a punch. He managed to get back to his feet against Wilder but there’s going to come a day when his chin will simply betray him. Schwarz has a puncher’s chance here and the outcome will depend on his attitude and aggressiveness. If he throws caution to the wind and goes after Fury he’ll increase his odds of winning. But unless he stops Fury or drops him a few times I don’t think he’ll pull it off. Fury usually focuses on not getting hit rather than attacking and that usually make him a dull but effective fighter. I’ll go with Fury here.
