Heavyweights! Again! This time, it’s Tyson Fury at bat, taking on the overmatched Tom Schwarz.
This Saturday is another Heavyweight fight when Tyson Fury (27-0-1; 19 KO) faces Tom Schwarz (24-0; 16 KO). Fury vs. Schwarz takes place this Saturday, June 15 and airs live on ESPN+ with a fight time of 10:00 p.m. ET.
Tyson Fury
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THE Champ – Third time recently we’ve seen one of the big three Heavyweights in action. Deontay Wilder is WBC champion.
Anthony JoshuaAndy Ruiz is the WBA/IBF/WBO champion. Fury holds no actual title. But he is the lineal champ – the man who beat Wladimir Klitschko and has not lost since. In this era of multiple champs, in my view, that makes him THE champ. You might disagree. But he’s beaten the best, and no one has beaten him since. Ring Magazine now ranks him #1 in the division FWIW. - That chin – Fury coming off the mat in round 12 against Wilder in December is the stuff legends are made of. When that bomb landed and Fury dropped down dead, everyone knew the fight was over – Fury had been KO’d. Everyone except Tyson Fury. He got up, showing both a chin and a willpower precious few have. It’s hard to envision anyone stopping him if that didn’t.
- Unorthodox style – Fury uses a weird, herky-jerky style that is tough for opponents to deal with. It flustered Wlad, and it flustered Wilder. And, to be fair, it often flusters fans as well – as exciting as that 12th round was, Fury vs, Klitschko was a pretty terrible fight to watch, and the rest of Wilder vs. Fury was more about the drama of what could happen, less about what was actually happening.
- Mental state – Before his nearly 3 year, post-Klitschko hiatus, Fury was, shall we say, erratic. Then he took time off, struggling with bipolar disorder. Since his return though, he’s seemed far more stabilized. Still a showman, but not that potential train wreck that loomed in the past. We’ll see if that holds, because as long as it does, it’s hard to not view him as the best Heavyweight in the sport today.
Tom Schwarz
- Ruiz. Rolls.– This is week #3 of total odds mismatch. First it was Joshua vs. Ruiz, then GGG vs. Rolls, now this. All three looked like easy wins on paper, but then Ruiz won and it made people think it could happen again. Then Rolls get wrecked. So the question here – is Schwarz more Andy Ruiz or more Steve Rolls? And I think it’s pretty clear he’s Rolls.
- 24-0 vs. 27-0-1 – On paper, Fury and Schwarz have very similar records, but there was a chasm between their quality of opposition even before Fury defeated Klitschko. Comparing to Ruiz, he went in to the Joshua fight having gone the distance against Joseph Parker. Schwarz has defeated… Christian Lewandowski?
- Welcome to America – Schwarz has fought only once outside of Germany before, and that was in the nearby Prague. He’s crossing the seas here, and also getting exposed to the international lights for the first time. That’s a lot of pressure.
What else is on the card?
- Jesse Hart (25-2; 21 KO) vs. Sullivan Barrera (22-2; 14 KO) – This is a Light Heavyweight fight, and not a bad one at that. Barrera is ranked #8 in what is actually a relatively deep division, and Hart is moving up in weight after a close loss to Gilberto Ramirez. Winner here could easily get a title shot next.
Final Verdict
I find Fury to be must watch TV, but your mileage there may vary. Regardless, this won’t be much of a fight, so tune in to see the man at Heavyweight if you want. And if you do, stop on by early for Barrera vs. Hart.
Prediction: Tyson Fury, KO round 3