Even though Fury “toyed” with Makhmudov at times, switching southpaws and finishing 12 with his hands behind, Allen saw a version of Fury that was “five times slower” than the man who dominated the division a few years ago.
“In physical terms, he wasn't good tonight. I thought it was a normal match,” said Dave Allen on his channel about Fury's match against Makhmudov last Saturday. “It was like the old Tyson Fury, but five times slower.”
“If he had gone through the gears he would have taken him out, and he chose not to or he failed. A 36-year-old who hasn't met Makhmudov shouldn't go 12 with a world-class heavyweight. Fury's not that old. He was really slow. The pace was slow, painfully slow. Anyone who could be up to the top.”
The general consensus among fans that the Wilder trilogy took the best of Fury seems to be the most accurate of all fights. While he did get a unanimous decision (120-108, 120-108, 119-109), it was more about Makhmudov being “apathetic” and slow rather than Fury being elite.
Allen X's post about Fury “not having much left” reflects the reality of a 37-year-old heavyweight who has lived a very difficult life, both in and out of the ring.
As Wilder fought, he defeated Dillian Whyte, and Derek Chisora didn't need Fury to be at 100%. Ngannou's shock was the first big warning sign, and Usyk's subsequent loss in 2024 confirmed that elite-level agility is gone.
Many analysts believed that the 2021 fight with Wilder was the beginning of the end of his physical peak years. Every fight since then, Whyte, Chisora, Ngannou, and Usyk's matches, has looked like a gradual decline in athleticism.
If he looks old and slow compared to the version of Makhmudov that Allen described as “finished” and “underwater beating,” it really highlights the danger he would face against young and hungry plants.
Someone like Moses Itauma or Richard Torrez Jr. you operate on a completely different frequency. They throw them with speed and volume that require elite reflexes to slow them down.
Fury used to move like a middleweight; now, as Allen puts it, you look like you're fighting underwater or walking slowly.
“I'd like to see him box Joshua or Wilder,” Allen said of Fury. I don't want to see him boxing young men, anything new, too sharp. I think he lost a step or two or three to be honest.”
Allen, who wants to see him fight Joshua or Wilder, feels he is asking for an “Old Timer” contest. It's a way for Fury to cash in on a big domestic or legacy fight without being embarrassed by the “younger, fresher, sharper” guys that Allen said Fury wants to avoid.
If he can't “go through the gears” on a guy Allen says is “over,” how does he survive twelve rounds with someone like Jalolov or a rejuvenated AJ? It looks like “Gypsy King” is working on muscle memory and dignity at the moment.
