Treatment of Tyson after Klitschko win was awful: McCrory

ALMOST three years ago Tyson Fury returned from Germany after one of the biggest achievements by a British sportsman when dethroning World heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko but instead of being lauded he walked into a firestorm of criticism.

Instead of being given due credit for ending the 10-year reign of Klitschko, it seemed many simply wanted to queue up and vilify him for his personal beliefs and former world cruiserweight champion Glenn McCrory believes it led to him withdrawing from the sport.

Fury returned to training last October and has shed almost 10 stone in his pursuit of completing an outstanding comeback to the ring and McCrory believes it is testimony to his men-mental strength that hehe is knocking on the dooror of a world title shotot already.

“Tyson is i n a very, very good place now. I was with him ei ght months ago and he was r eall y overweight but still hadh a great engine and heh has got himself into terrific shape in such a short space of time,” said McCrory.

“People will wonder if he is ready for a world title fight and whether or not he needs one more fight before a world title shot but of course he doesn’t... he was ready three years ago.

“He’s been there and done it, he has beaten the best Klitschko ( above) so it’s all about getting into the right shape, getting focused and being mentally ready.

“You can tell he is back to where he wants to be and when you’re at that world level it is about getting sharp again because you’re not going to teach him much more — there will be the odd little thing for different fighters but he’s had a lifetime in boxing.

“The mental side is crucial and the biggest thing was for him to want it again, to get that desire again which I believe was taken away from him because of the treatment he suffered after winning the title.

“The treatment he received after winning was terrible, I’ve never seen a champion treated like that. He had just won the world heavyweight title against the top man in the division and it just seemed that people wanted to bring him down.

“It was horrendous, the BBC were a disgrace — they pulled him apart and humiliated him at the Sports Personality Awards. They should have been applauding him for what he had done.

“I don’t think there has ever been a sportsman who has achieved something at that level and received such bad treatment.ment. It was disgusting. Anybodyybody trying to deal with thathat would find it very hahard to cope. People hhaven’ t got a clue how great a lad he is... so he had to get oover that massive wwound and hats off to him because he has got hhimself back.” Fury i s relishing the chance of a shot at WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder and the prospect of an all-British clash with WBA/IBF/ WBO champion Anthony Joshua — and McCrory says both men should be on their guard.

He added: “Tyson can go on and beat everybody in the division. Anybody who has that sort of mental strength and inner belief, coming back from where he has been can beat anyone.

“The old Tyson has gone, that one was destroyed by what happened to him and this new one is going to do it again and this time his achievements will not be destroyed. He’s the best heavyweight out there and he just needs the chance to prove it.”

TYSON Fury strokes his beard, questions his dad John and still can’t come up with a definite answer as to just how he celebrated his bir thday 12 months ago. Fast for ward to the Europa Hotel and a tasty steak for dinner, a rela xed Fury promises a special performance on Saturday night.

The dark days of mental health issues, being gripped by a deep depression, have been lef t behind by Fury, who turned 30 on Sunday and enjoyed time with his four children and wife Paris before heading to Belfast. The recover y from, in his own words, “being a 28 stone whale” to a f ighting world heav y weight title contender once more has captured the public in a way he never did en route to dethroning Wladimir Klitschko in November 2015.

Promoter Frank Warren is on the cusp of signing Fury to challenge WBC world champion Deontay Wilder in Las Vegas in December as long as he overcomes Italian Francesco Pianeta at Windsor Park — part of the supporting bill to Carl Frampton’s battle with Australian Luke Jackson.

American Wilder will be at ringside to witness Fury’s performance and presumably confirm his intentions for the biggest boxing event of the year.

Speaking exclusively to the Belfast Telegraph, Fury succinctly sums up the transformation in his life which has brought him back to the sport he once again loves with a passion.

“I can’t even remember what I was doing this time last year. I was probably in a pub somewhere drunk, depressed and 28 stone. Look at me now — I’m back f ighting and I’ve lost nearly 10 stone. It’s a miracle that I’m back here,” said Fury.

“After all I’ve been through, it ’s quite an achievement and I’m ver y happy to be here. That’s the main thing, I’m happy. Thinking about myself going out in front of 25,000 people at Windsor Park is great. PROMOTER Frank Warren has made it crystal clear that Tyson Fury’s bid to become a two-time world champion hinges on a win over Italian Francesco Pianeta at Windsor Park this Saturday night.

Warren, who is staging the Windsor bill which is headed by Carl Frampton’s clash with Australian Luke Jackson, confirmed that WBC world heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder will be at ringside at Windsor along with his promoter Shelly Finkel with a view to tying up a deal with Fury.

The Hall of Fame promoter insisted there had been few obstacles to making the fight between Fury and champion Wilder, which was in stark contrast to the saga that engulfed WBA/IBF/ WBO title holder Anthony Joshua (right). Promoter Eddie Hearn and counterpart Finkel failed to come to an agreement and Joshua is, instead, facing Alexander Povetkin next month at Wembley Stadium.

“Fights happen for two reasons — one the money has got to be right and, two, you either fancy the fight or you don’t. For Wilder and Tyson the money is right and they both want to fight, they want to see who the best heavyweight out there is,” said Warren.

“With Jo s h - ua it is clear that somebody doesn’ t want t he f i g ht . It has been well reported how much was off e r e d . Jo s h u a was guaranteed $ 80m and c ould have e a r ned more. When they were putting the deal together I actually helped with the deal because BT were keen to broadcast the fight so I have seen the offer. “Joshua was offered $ 50m f or t he first fight and $30m for a rematch if he lost. So the money was right which only l eaves t he r eas on i t couldn’ t be made was that somebody doesn’t fancy it. Does the promoter not fancy it? I know the trainer Robert McCracken doesn’t fancy it, he never comments on it.