Tommy Fury vs Kenan Hanjalic Predictions: ‘TNT’ lights the match after long lay-off

Tommy Fury is taking on Kenan Hanjalic this Friday, May 9 at the MTK Arena in Hungary. This is the first time ‘TNT’ has stepped in the ring since his 2023 win over KSI. DAZN will be screening the fight live in over 200 countries. Roman Fury, the brother of Tommy and former heavyweight champion Tyson Fury boxes on the undercard.

Here are my Tommy Fury vs Kenan Hanjalic predictions ahead of the return of ‘TNT’.

Tommy Fury vs Kenan Hanjalic Odds

Fury is understandably the big favourite here. The Manchester man is 1/20 to get the job done. Hanjalic is 8/1 while the draw is available at 16/1.

Tommy Fury vs Kenan Hanjalic Fight Preview

It has been a hard road for Tommy to get to this point. Fury is much-mocked in boxing circles for the fact that his famous older brother and Love Island fame have opened doors that would otherwise have remained shut for others of his skill level. But no one can laugh in the face of the personal battles Fury has had to fight outside the ring.

Since he was last seen between the ropes in October 2023, Fury has endured a painful break-up with girlfriend and fellow Love Islander Molly-Mae Hague, the mother of his daughter. Both sides of the relationship have also been open about Fury’s struggles with alcohol.

You can assess Tommy’s boxing ability however you like, but one must sympathise with the strains he has been under outside the ring. His boxing career has stuttered at the same time, with a scheduled fight against ex-UFC star Darren Till at the Co-op Arena cancelled after Fury withdrew. Few bought his reasoning that he had pulled out due to Till’s tongue-in-cheek threat to employ some of his MMA skills in the boxing rules bout.

Considering what he has been going through, perhaps Fury’s withdrawal makes more sense. But he is back on Friday and, for the first time since a 2022 points win over Daniel Bocianski, he goes in with an actual professional boxer.

KSI and Jake Paul, Fury’s last two scalps, do have professional records of course. KSI’s features just two bouts, the Fury loss and a win over Logan Paul. The rest of his boxing has been done in his own Misfits Boxing promotion, which is not sanctioned by the British Boxing Board of Control. 

Paul’s professional record features wins over legendary names way past their prime (Mike Tyson and Anderson Silva) or washed up athletes from other sports (almost everyone else). The one true boxer he faced was Fury, a rookie by any serious metric. The fact Paul lost says everything about the legitimacy of his aspirations.

But enough about ‘The Problem Child’, this is the Tommy Fury Show. It is an unusually low-key one for him but that is the point. The setting, the quiet placement on a Friday night where everyone is looking ahead to the big cards on Saturday in the UK and the States. The fact it is Hungary and not the UK, America or Saudi Arabia playing host. This feels like a Premier League player doing 45 minutes in the reserves before coming back from injury. 

There is nothing wrong with that. After over a year on the shelf and a litany of difficulties, a run-out against an opponent very few have heard of is exactly what he needs. Hanjalic is not far into his own pro journey at 5-1. The internet will sneer, but Fury wasn’t going to fight Oleksandr Usyk was he?

What will be most interesting is what comes next. Obviously this fight is about as much of a risk as any combat sports endeavour. This guy could catch Fury with something and down he goes. Hanjalic has four knockouts from his five fights. He has hit four men until they were unable to continue. You can debate the likelihood he does it to Fury, but you can’t discount it.

But this lad has been chosen for a reason, namely the safety and future earning power of one Thomas Fury. Only one of the men Hanjalic has beaten has defeated another fighter (Muhamet Hajdaraj, who was 2-0 and retired in the aftermath). 

The four men he has knocked out had a combined record of 0-23 (with one debutant). He has a chance to beat Fury but only about the same chance as literally anyone on the planet between the ages of 18 and 35 who has ever laced up a pair of boxing gloves.

This peculiar fight makes sense for Fury. It is his ticket back to the money-makers. Dust off the cobwebs, shed the ring rust and get back out there in front of thousands of people. Whether his continued path is the influencer boxing route or he aims higher and tries his luck with the proper fighters, I can’t help but wish him well. Fury gets plenty of criticism and in boxing terms certainly it is warranted. But you cannot begrudge a man who has walked through hell from returning to what he does best.

Tommy Fury vs Kenan Hanjalic Full Card

Tommy Fury vs Kenan Hanjalic

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Tommy Fury vs Kenan Hanjalic Prediction

If Tommy’s head isn’t in this, then Hanjalic could cause him an issue or two. But assuming even a half-bothered ‘TNT’ turns up this should be light work. Fury’s core fundamentals are there, his basics are better than he is given credit for a lot of the time. It is how he has managed to defeat the two main draws on the influencer scene in Paul and KSI.

Unsurprisingly I am picking the Fury win here at 1/20. I don’t think he’ll dazzle early on, but once he gets his timing this will be a doddle.

You can find all our latest boxing betting tips and analysis at our Betfred Insights Boxing page and our latest boxing odds here.