Who will Tyson Fury face in 2011? We like these names...

Heavyweight prospect Tyson Fury has enjoyed a reasonably active 2010, fighting on average once every three months. Commencing 2010 by shaking off six months of ring rust with a blow out win over Hans-Joerg Blasko in one round, he then took on John McDermott in a rematch of their controversial 2009 battle.

This time Fury left no room for the judges, digging deep to overcome McDermott by stoppage in the ninth round. Despite some sloppy boxing at times, Tyson impressed observers with a huge display of heart when the going got tough.

Then followed American prospect, 6’6” Rich Power with a then unbeaten record of 12-0. Tyson was able to box effectively, using his long reach and superior physical dimensions to secure the decision over eight rounds.

In Fury’s final fight for 2010, he overcame the well known American journeyman Zack Page with a shut-out decision, again over eight rounds, displaying an impressive jab throughout the fight. Whilst Page’s record appears nothing special at first glance, now 21-33-2, (7 KOs) it must be remembered that Page is a higher class of journeyman, who has regularly met the best at cruiserweight and heavyweight and has been stopped only three times in his professional career. His record is littered with the names of recent prospects that have tried and failed to stop him. Men such as Manuel Charr, Seth Mitchell, Kubrat Pulev, Francisco Palacios and Mike Perez have all won learning fights in the ring with him. Even “world” champions in the form of Guillermo Jones and Juan Carlos Gomez have had to go the distance in order to overcome him. Page even scored an upset win recently over the enormous Kevin McBride, demonstrating his ability to handle far larger fighters. So Tyson’s inability to stop Page is nothing to be ashamed of. The fact that he won a shut-out decision over a tricky veteran who knows how to survive deserves praise.

Tyson now sports a 13-0 (9 KO’s) record. He wants to raise his profile on both sides of the Atlantic. The question is how could 2011 go for him? Here are my thoughts on four potential fighters he could face in the ring next year.

Naven Pajkic (Canada)

The rivalry between these two men is no secret. Fury, appalled by Pajkic's apparently dreadful showing against aging Andreas Sidon (who is just a year younger than Holyfield) issued a challenge for the Canadian champion to fight him. Since then, there has been back and forth verbal sparring but nothing has been signed as yet. Pajkic carries a high ranking in the Commonwealth (according to Boxrec’s ratings) and sports a 15-0 record. His most notable wins come over Jason Gavern and Nicolai Firtha, who recently fought world rated Alexander Povetkin. It could make for an exciting brawl given the evident animosity between the two men. Fury has the benefit of a six inch height advantage and undoubtedly has a longer reach. I have no doubt that Fury would have the edge in that fight.

Kirk Johnson (Canada) The 38 year-old former “world” title contender sports a 37-2-1 record, his losses coming against John Ruiz for the WBA title, and a formidable Vitali Klitschko in a WBC eliminator. Johnson owns wins over Lou Savarese, Larry Donald and Oleg Maskaev and has been pro since 1993. He recently returned to boxing with a first round stoppage win after around four years away from the game. He should be refreshed after the layoff and would potentially provide Fury with the sternest test he could face in Canada (where Fury's promoter Hennessy Sports has established a foothold in the market).

Derek Chisora (UK)

Derek received a huge boost in publicity with his willingness to take on the world’s number one heavyweight, Wladimir Klitschko after just fourteen professional outings, with many comparing his opportunity to that of Leon Spinks' infamous 1978 win over a fading Ali. However, Klitschko suffered an abdominal injury which scuppered the challenge, and there is now talk of a Haye/Klitschko meeting in Las Vegas (finally!) next year. If Chisora is forced to step aside, he may decide to defend his British title and Tyson is thus ranked highly. It goes without saying that a dust up between “Del Boy” and Fury would be eagerly anticipated. Additionally if Fury was able to add the British title to his list of achievements it would certainly increase his stock. Chisora however will not step aside lightly and is certainly not to be underestimated. He is fast, can move and bang and he has a confidence which has remained undaunted even when faced with the prospect of clashing with a Klitschko in Germany. Fury would have to be on top form to overcome him.

Martin Rogan (UK) After losing a couple of thrillers with Sam Sexton, Rogan wisely took a lay off before beginning to rebuild his title hopes. The year off appears to have done him good, having changed his nickname to “Iron Man” and he has now notched up two quick wins in 2010 over journeyman opposition. Holding wins over Skelton and Harrison already; despite such as short career thus far, Rogan vs. Fury would no doubt be very entertaining. Rogan is not afraid to mix it up and go for broke, and he would come forward all night. So far the only man who has managed to pressure Fury significantly in the ring is McDermott and we all know what happened there. Rogan would also bring serious pressure and it would be interesting to see how the fight would unfold. Add the fact that it would be an all-Irish fight (Fury represents both Ireland and the UK) it would no doubt generate interest.

Other men that could feature in the picture would be fellow prospects Kubrat Pulev and Robert Helenius. However, both these men are older and are being brought along faster because of that, and both have shown skill in defeating former contenders. Helenius is surging forward, having defeated Attila Levin, Lamon Brewster and Taras Bydenko. Pulev has already beaten Paolo Vidoz and Dominick Guinn.

The real wildcard would be Antonio Tarver, who has just moved up to heavyweight with a win over Nagy Aguilera. Despite his age, Tarver presents much greater challenge, as do Pulev and Helenius and Chisora.

Whilst Fury no doubt has the tools and the willingness, he needs to develop with greater experience before settling scores with these fighters. He is only 22, with just 58 rounds under his belt and time is on his side. Under Emanuel Steward’s guidance he can be steered towards the right fights at the right time.

Overall then, 2011 looks to be a busy year for the young heavyweight and even if he fights none of the above, he will still be active. His move to train with Steward should certainly reap significant dividends, as should his recent sparring with Wladimir Klitschko. Tyson has plenty of time on his side to develop and hopefully, under Steward, his oft talked about weight/stamina issues will be resolved. It would be great to see Fury regularly hitting somewhere between 245 – 255lbs for his fights next year but the fact remains that the fighter knows their body best and Steward will be on hand to monitor this.

Whatever happens, I wish Fury success whenever he enters the ring. He is an exciting prospect to be proud of.