Hughie Fury shows growth in unanimous decision win over Mariusz Wach

Hughie Fury needed an impressive performance against veteran Mariusz Wach to boost his standing in the heavyweight division. He got it.

Hughie Fury said all fight week that he would ”shock” people with his improved boxing skills against seasoned opponent Mariusz Wach. Fury (25-3, 14 KOs) did look improved on Saturday, Dec. 12, as he was more active than in previous fights.

There have always been high expectations for the 26-year-old Fury. He’s the younger cousin of WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and part of the famous Fury family. While Fury won his last fight against Pavel Sour in March, he lost the bout before against Alexander Povetkin for the third loss of his career.

Wach’s (36-7, 19 KOs) career is coming to a close on the flip side. At 40 years old, Wach had a good run but lost all of his contests against elite opposition. He was looking to extend his career against Fury, but he dropped a unanimous decision to Fury, which further drops him down the rankings into the realm of gatekeeper.

In front of 1,000 fans at London’s SSE Arena, the British Fury gave his fans a boxing show. Fury started the bout aggressively. He pushed the 6-foot-8 Wach back for rounds 2-4 and put his power punching on display.

Hughie Fury didn’t look like a new fighter against Mariusz Wach, but he did demonstrate improvement

In round 4, Fury looked like he wanted to knock Wach out. He trapped Wach along the ropes and pummeled him with punches at close range, but Wach’s head caught Fury above the left eye and opened up a large cut that started to bleed badly.

Fury has a history of cuts. Early in the week, during a media call, Fury recalled how he suffered a cut in round 2 against Kubrat Pulev in 2018. Fury lost a unanimous decision in that fight, and the cut had a lot to do with it.

He reacted much better to the cut against Wach. Yes, Wach and Pulev are on different levels, but Fury showed toughness and heart as he bravely fought on. The cut bled at times throughout the fight, but Fury’s team managed it well, and he never panicked.

Fury changed his style about midway through the fight. He started to box on the outside, but he kept his hands moving and peppered Wach with jabs. Fury showed smart feet as he danced around the ring while piling up the points.

The fight went the distance, but the judges unsurprisingly returned two scores of 100-90 and one of  99-91, all for Fury.

Fury may not have shocked people with his performance against Wach, but he did show steady growth as a boxer and more urgency than previous outings. He’s currently rated as the 26th best heavyweight in the world by Boxcec.com and might enter the top 20 after winning against Wach.