Tony Bellew delivers verdict that Tyson Fury has never been a puncher

Tony Bellew said Tyson Fury has never been a puncher, calling it a fact rather than an opinion, as Fury prepares to face Anthony Joshua, who has 27 knockouts from 30 wins.

Tony Bellew has insisted that Tyson Fury has never been one of boxing's big hitters, saying that is a fact rather than his opinion, as Fury prepares to face Anthony Joshua.

The assessment matters because of who stands in the opposite corner. Joshua is a far more renowned puncher, with 27 knockouts from 30 wins, although he has been stopped himself, by Andy Ruiz in 2019 and by Daniel Dubois in September 2024.

Bellew, speaking to Fight Your Corner, challenged anyone to name an opponent Fury had knocked out inside three rounds. He said it had been so long that he could not remember the last time, and suggested it was probably against a journeyman.

The former world champion traced the problem to Fury's changes of trainer. He said Fury became a weaker version of the fighter Peter Fury trained after moving to Ben Davison, and that a later switch to a coach who implements the Kronk style, an aggressive counter-punching approach, had altered how Fury sees himself.

Bellew said: “This has hurt Tyson Fury because it’s got him believing he’s a puncher, and he’s never been a puncher. What he is, is heavy-handed.”

Fury, now 38, has won 36 of his 39 fights, 25 of them by knockout. In July, Mariusz Wach's corner pulled him out between rounds. Before that, his most recent stoppages were of Derek Chisora and Dillian Whyte, both in 2022, while he knocked out Deontay Wilder in 2020 and 2021 during their trilogy.

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