THIS planet will never see another Muhammad Ali — but when it comes to sheer magnetism outside of the ropes Tyson Fury is the only one who can run him close.
I’ve had the privilege of being around 36 world heavyweight champions and that includes all-time greats Larry Holmes, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis.
But none of them could seduce a crowd by the huge force of their personalities like Ali could and Fury does.
Spontaneously and unscripted, they were born with the gift of being able — with a mixture of bombast and humour — to have millions of fans eating out of their hands.
And to think there was a time when Ali and Fury, because of their highly controversial views about race and religion — among other contentious issues — were considered hate figures.
It certainly isn’t easy to turn public opinion from anger and hatred into love — yet they both managed to do it and with spectacular results.
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With all due respect to Dillian Whyte, Tyson is the reason why 94,000 people are paying a total of £13million to see the Gypsy King defend his WBC title at a heaving Wembley Stadium tonight.
And another million-plus are expected to fork out £24.95 to watch it on pay-per-view TV.
It will be the third-biggest crowd in heavyweight history.
An incredible 120,557 were at the Sesquicentennial Stadium, Philadelphia, to see the first Jack Dempsey v Gene Tunney fight in September, 1926.
And then a year later 104,943 turned up at Soldier Field, Chicago, for the return — with Tunney winning both on points.
This will be the 76th world heavyweight championship fight I’ve attended.
And it didn’t matter if I was in New York, Las Vegas or Tulsa, Oklahoma, there is still nothing that gets the hairs standing up on the back of my neck than nervously waiting for the opening bell to sound in a meaningful fight for the richest prize in sport.
Fury is a massive 1-6 favourite to dispose of Whyte. According to the odds-makers, he should have a walk in the Wembley Park in what he dubiously insists is his swansong.
Tyson, fighting at home for the first time in four years, is being challenged by a former sparring partner.
But that was now ten years ago — and he doesn’t need telling it would be idiotic to allow complacency to dismiss Whyte as an easy touch.
Dillian is powerful, with a sleep-inducing left hook having scored 19 KOs in 28 victories.
He has impatiently waited years for his chance of glory and the immense riches that go with it, so is bound to be hugely fired-up.
Fury, far from body beautiful, is a remarkable athlete with an acute boxing brain.
And for a man mountain of 6ft 9in and near 20st, he is still remarkably quick on his feet with hand-speed to match — the reason he remains unbeaten after 14 years and 32 pro fights.
He may not be a devastating puncher — but certainly has enough dynamite in his fists to have made sure 22 victims haven’t heard the final bell.
Tyson’s legacy now, whatever happens against Whyte, will always be his trilogy against Deontay Wilder which endeared him to the Americans.
Those incredibly exciting wars rank alongside the other great heavyweight three-timers Ali-Frazier and Holyfield-Bowe and established him as the greatest heavyweight of his generation.
He was on the canvas four times in his battles with Wilder — who is considered by some as the hardest puncher ever — and it proved that Fury not only has extraordinary powers of recovery but Ukrainian-type bravery.
If Wilder couldn’t knock him out, then it isn’t feasible that Whyte is going to.
And I find it hard to believe he is capable of out-boxing the much bigger man, the way that Oleksandr Usyk dealt so easily with Anthony Joshua.
I expect Tyson will defensively be too clever for Whyte — and that his accurate combination punches could deck Dillian and get it over by half-way.
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If Fury is telling the truth and this is his last fight, we should savour every minute.
As American author Marianne Williamson said: “Charisma is a sparkle money can’t buy.”
