LONDON – Tyson Fury believes deep in his fighting heart that destiny beckoned him towards his next world heavyweight title the moment WBC champion Deontay Wilder signed the contract for their showdown of the giants this Saturday night.
“The Bronze Bomber made the biggest mistake of his life when he let me talk him into this fight,” proclaimed the Gypsy King.
“Wilder never realised that it was me who chose to fight him, not the other way round. He is in for a terrible shock when he sees me in the ring. Sees that I’ve beaten him already.”
The boxing cognoscenti raised eyebrows when Fury made this pitch for a return to glory only two formality fights into his return from the same number of chronically depressed years out of the ring. Especially as he was still massively overweight.
Well, although we are gathered here in La-La Land in readiness for this collision of two huge and undefeated men, there is method in what many perceive as his madness.
Fury has been running most days up the hills beneath that famous Hollywood sign, but this is no movie fantasy.
Rather, he explained how he and his promoter Frank Warren laid a trap: “I told Frank this was the fight I wanted above all others. No more bums.
“So I asked him to tell Wilder’s team that he would be fighting a big, fat English idiot who had only come back for the money.
“They’ve bitten off more than they can chew. I tricked them into it.
“So while I’ve been over here for eight weeks starving myself (to finish taking off almost 10 stones to reach his fighting weight), training hard in camp and away from family with no sex, Deontay’s been enjoying the comforts of home.
“While I’ve been living in a hole, he’s been making love to his lady, eating nice dinners, his kids jumping all over him.
“You can’t be playing daddy in front of the fire and still be training to be heavyweight champion of the world. It doesn’t work like that.”
As for the cash – each is reported to be earning around $10 million – Fury outlines his quite startling philosophy.
“They think I’ve just come here to pick up a few quid,” he said.
“But I couldn’t care less about the money. I don’t have much use for it. I’m planning to give it all away to the poor and for building houses for the homeless. I will probably wind up like all the other boxers down the years. Skint.”
Might he hold back a little for his family?
“Nope,” he said. “I don’t believe in leaving money to kids. It’s bad for them. You see how all those spoiled rich kids who’ve inherited are in a mess. Kids need to earn their own money.
“I’ve worked hard for every penny, starting since I was eight and washing cars.”
Fury is not oblivious to Wilder being the biggest puncher in the world, a natural power which has knocked out every one of his professional opponents.
Fury said: “If he knocks me out in 30 seconds, good luck to him. If I knock him out in 10 seconds, good luck to me.”
#44
November 28, 2015
Tyson Fury outpoints Wladimir Klitschko over 12 rounds.
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🇺🇦Wladimir had 9 fights that went the distance in his 69 bout career. @Tyson_Fury was the only man that outpointed him.🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/zqZMivkMvG
— LinealBoxingChampion (@LinealBoxChamp) November 23, 2018
But then he remembers the elusiveness with which he frustrated Wladimir Klitschko to win his first world titles and adds: “In the ring, I’m as happy as a fish in the sea. My style is impregnable.”
The mind, after being so publicly troubled for so long, now appears restored to full fighting order. He says: “Once you’ve had mental illness, it never goes away. It’s not curable, but you can manage it, as I’ve learned.
“Now I’m the one bringing the light. I hope he brings all his demons to the ring, and I will punish them.
“Deontay gets one thing right when he says not even Tyson Fury knows what he’s going to do in the ring. When I beat Klitschko, I didn’t do any of the things we’d been working on in training.
Great work guys. All camp very professional. Let’s go time. pic.twitter.com/luqPiN5GcR
— TYSON FURY (@Tyson_Fury) November 21, 2018
“I don’t have a plan for this one. Given our contrast of styles, if I’m in the mood when the first bell goes, it will be a very good fight. If not, it could be a stinker.
“One thing Deontay does not know is how determined I am to beat him.”