Five reasons why Tyson Fury is world heavyweight champion

Tyson Fury is the best heavyweight on the planet. He is just the second fighter in the division to have held all four major world titles [WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO] after Riddick Bowe and with victory over Anthony Joshua, he can become undisputed champion - heavyweight's first since Lennox Lewis in 2002.

His superior in-ring IQ

Whatever you think of Fury as a person or as a fighter, you cannot dispute that he has definitely proved his worth over the years. Over the course of his career, he has proved himself to be a true student of the game.

His ability to adapt to different situations in fights is truly remarkable. If you compare his performances in fights with Deontay Wilder alone, you see a completely unrecognisable boxer.

A lot of credit for this should no doubt go to his trainers - SugarHill Steward, Peter Fury and Ben Davison - who have masterminded great tactics in big fights for Fury.
A great fighter, though, has to implement them. Whether that's outboxing or bullying opponents, Fury finds a way to get the job done and as it stands, it will see him go down in the history books as one of the greatest heavyweight fighters of the last half-century.
Fury is viewed as a British fighter with the conditioning of an American and the speed of a middleweight.

Shock win over heavyweight legend Klitschko

Prior to his 2015 fight against Wladimir Klitschko, Fury hyped the showdown some extravagant press conference antics. 

The last Briton to have collided with Klitschko was David Haye and we all know how that went. 

Fury won the 12-round contest in a landslide via a unanimous points decision. It was all the more impressive when you consider that the fight was taking place in Klitschko territory - Dusseldorf, Germany.

For any normal fighter, this would have been the pinnacle of their career. But for the storied life of Fury, this was just the beginning…

Battle with mental health

After becoming unified world heavyweight champion, Fury went on a downward spiral. There was due to be a rematch with Klitschko but this would fall through with Fury being deemed medically unfit to fight in 2016. 

Gaining more weight, abusing his body with drugs and several attempts of suicide, Fury had hit rock bottom.

At his heaviest, Fury admits that he weighed more than 300-pounds. He would begin his return to redemption in 2018 by applying for a boxing licence before training with Davison. 

He named Wilder as the main motivation for his return after the American labelled Fury as finished.

For his December world title fight with Wilder, Fury weighed in at 256.5 pounds, and he looked significantly leaner than his last couple fights.

Fury's comeback would see him earn a controversial split-draw against Wilder in Los Angeles with most believing Fury had done enough to win. It is regarded as one of the greatest comebacks in sport, alongside Tiger Woods' 15th Major title at the Masters.

Charity work

Since returning to boxing, it is not just his body image that has changed. Fury's mindset is now focused on becoming the people's champion by motivating fellow mental health strugglers as well as helping charities.

Career-defining win over biggest puncher since Iron Mike

We have seen throughout Wilder’s career that his one-punch power is phenomenal, and it will only take one good shot to down any opponent - unless you are Fury that is.

Never-the-less, Fury recognized the threat Wilder possessed and hired a new team in Kronk's Steward and second-cousin Andy Lee. Fulfilling his promise prior to the rematch, Fury met Wilder in the middle of the ring once the first bell rang and attacked him from the get-go.