One of the hotly contested debates in the UK is who is a bigger star in the country between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury. Some go with Joshua. Some go with Fury.
Joshua is coming off losing for the second time to three-belt heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk this past Saturday via split decision. The 2012 Olympic gold medalist is in the top tier of the sport's marquee global attractions and is a former two-time, three-belt heavyweight champion.
On the other hand, Fury is also a two-time heavyweight champion and is coming a sixth-round knockout of Dillian Whyte in April to retain the WBC belt. So for Muay Thai legend and fellow Englishman Liam Harrison, the choice for him is an easy one.
"Fury," Harrison, who on Friday challenges ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Champion Nong-O Gaiyanghadao at ONE on Prime Video 1 (10 p.m. ET, Amazon Prime Video), bluntly told DAZN. "He's unbeaten. He took on this generation's most feared heavyweight (Deontay Wilder) three times. And he's not only like beating him, but he should have beat him the first time. He blitzed him the second time, and the third fight was one of the greatest fights I've seen in my era and one of the greatest fights. Knockdowns from both sides. It was crazy. What he did in the first fight, obviously, as that alone tumps most things AJ’s done.
"AJ had a good win against (Wladimir) Klitschko to win the titles and had a few good defenses, but everyone avoided Wilder. No one wanted it. Fury was the one who stepped up, took him on, and beat him. Fury is the man at heavyweight for me."
Harrison (90-24-2), 36, started in the sport at 13. In combat sports, being mid-30s usually signifies you are looking more towards retirement than looking to win world championships and beating up on people almost half your age. But the fire still ignites inside Harrison, and he doesn't envision the flame burning out anytime soon.
"I still feel good, and I'm still winning," Harrison admitted. "I will go to the wheels fall off. I honestly love this sport. I've been in a routine from being 13, 14 years old when I train for a fight, have a few weeks off, relax, heal, back again (and) train for a fight. I've had like 120 (116) professional fights. This is all I know, and I love it. My body will tell me when it's time to pack it in. I'm still winning. I'm on a good winning streak at the minute. I'm still beating fighters who are half my age. If and when I start to lose to people I know I should have been beating, I'll call it a day. I don't want to be one of those guys who goes past the sell-by date. People are always saying, ‘Why is he still fighting? What's going on here?’
"I want to be remembered for how I am now, and that's exciting, hard-hitting. explosive, entertaining, knockdown drag-outs, all just complete drama. That's how I want to be remembered. So whenever my body starts to tell me it's not going to let me fight like that anymore, then it'll be time for me to sail off into the sunset and do something else."
Harrison currently rides a five-fight winning streak coming in against perhaps the preeminent name in Muay Thai. Gaiyanghadao (262-54-10) hasn't lost in over seven years and will be looking to defend the gold for the sixth consecutive time. Harrison knows who he is facing and is champing at the bit to test his skills with one of the greats.
"An absolute legend," Harrison said. "I've been following his career for about 20 years now. I'm really looking forward to it. He's a very strong kicker. He's got a strong right punch. He's won his last three by knockout. He's on a good roll. I'm looking forward to standing there and trading with him."