Fury must clear heavyweight division to cement legacy, says Briggs

WBC
champion
Fury
is
eager
to
return
to
the
ring
by
early
2022
following
victory
over
Deontay
Wilder
in
the
trilogy
fight
between
the
pair
in
October.

But
his
opponent
remains
unclear
as
uncertainty
lingers
whether
he
will
face
Dillian
Whyte,
who
wants
to
be
sanctioned
as
the
mandatory
challenger
for
the
heavyweight
title.

Fury
also
has
his
eyes
on
a
bout
against
Oleksandr
Usyk,
who
claimed
the
WBA,
WBO
and
IBF
titles
from
Anthony
Joshua
in
September.

Usyk
and
Joshua
are
set
to
meet
again
in
the
early
months
of
2022,
though
the
latter
could
drop
out
to
allow
the
undisputed
fight
and
Briggs
believes
Fury
needs
to
face
top
contenders
to
cement
his
legacy.

“I
think
he’ll
make
the
decision
to
stick
around
and
fight
guys,”
Briggs,
who
was
a
two-time
heavyweight
champion,
told
Stats
Perform.

“He’s
not
very
old,
although
he’s
accomplished
a
lot.
He’s
had
gaps
in
his
career
between
lay-offs
due
to
whatever
circumstances
he
was
dealing
with.
It
hasn’t
been
consistent.

“I
think
that
for
us
to
cement
his
greatness,
we
need
to
see
consistency.
I
think
we
need
to
see
at
least
three
to
six
wins
from
the
guys
in
the
top
10.

“Clear
out
the
top
10,
clear
out
the
heavyweight
division,
and
then
maybe
we
can
say
he’s
the
greatest
heavyweight
of
all
time,
due
to
size,
due
to
his
ability
to
move,
his
rhythm.
For
a
big
man,
it’s
just
unreal.

“His
heart,
his
chin
–
he
got
off
the
ground
against
one
of
the
hardest
punchers
that
ever
lived
in
[Deontay]
Wilder.”

Very
proud
to
be
the

@WBCBoxing
king.

pic.twitter.com/3YYmbrphbk

—
TYSON
FURY
(@Tyson_Fury)

November
16,
2021

The
undefeated
Fury
has
31
wins
to
his
name,
with
the
only
blotch
on
his
record
a
contentious
split-decision
draw
against
Wilder
in
their
first
clash.

Briggs
appreciates
the
talent
of
‘The
Gypsy
King’,
who
he
implored
to
become
more
consistent
to
further
his
standing
within
boxing’s
history.

“He’s
shown
us
flashes
of
greatness,
but
we
need
to
see
one
last
thing,”
he
added.

“What
makes
a
champion
is
consistency,
so
we
need
six
to
10
Larry
Holmes
style
wins,
Lennox
Lewis
style
wins,
staying
busy.
Lennox
was
a
busy
fighter.
Lennox
defended
his
title,
he
fought
a
lot.

“We
need
three,
four
fights
a
year
consistently
for
the
next
two
years
if
not
more.
I
think
he’s
a
great
guy
and
a
great
fighter,
but
I
just
think
we
need
to
see
consistency
and
consecutive
wins.”