Fury (25-0-KO18) was recently warned by the British Boxing Board of Control over media comments but Holyfield, who held the WBC, WBA and IBF world titles himself, says the Mancunian is helping the sport.
‘The Real Deal’ told Sky Sports News HQ, “I think it (Fury) makes the game of boxing exciting. It’s something different. We’ve never really had a white fighter talk a lot like that. He brings something to the table. He’s a good fighter. Nobody’s accustomed to seeing someone 6’9” but he’s got heart.
“He’s a fighter. Everything he says, he lets you know. He practices, works out, his time came and he made the best of it. I think with most of those guys and what they were doing, I think he brought the light back in to the game of boxing. People are looking forward to seeing it.”
Fury, 27, snatched the WBA Super, WBO and IBF titles from the long-reigning Wladimir Klitschko in November with a points success that surprised many – and Holyfield warns the veteran Ukrainian he’ll need to change tactics to win the rematch.
Holyfield said, “The difference is that you can only hope. People look at experts but you’re not fighting. It’s obvious that Wladimir Klitschko had never fought a guy with arms longer than his. Tyson Fury has never fought a guy with arms longer than his. It’s different when someone has long arms and Fury had the longer arms.
“He has to get with his trainer and working on doing things that Fury can’t do. The art of the game is how to make an adjustment. I became heavyweight champion of the world four times because I made adjustments.”
The American also had words of encouragement for British hopeful Anthony Joshua, adding: “One thing is he has proven he was the best amateur. Now it’s time to stand up to fight for a world championship.