THERE’S NOWHERE ELSE I’ D WANT TO BE
Beating Wilder will complete my full world title set
EVER the showman, Tyson Fury was typically colourful as he summed up his desire for his date with destiny against DeontayWilder.
Fury is so pumped he claims he would rather be punched in the face by the hardesthitting man on the planet than enjoy a Caribbean holiday with eight strippers, £10million and tons of booze.
“This is my time in the stars, time in the sun, five minutes of fame, whatever you want to call it,” he said.
“This is what I live to do. I’ve lived and breathed this since I was 14 and I couldn’t think of being in any better place in the world. “Even if you gave me £10m spending money and sent me to the Bahamas with eight strippers and a load of alcohol it’d be no good to me because I’d rather be here getting punched in the face by Wilder. That’s what turns me on.”
He is driven to become the first Briton to win all four major heavyweight crowns and complete his collection of titles if he can dethrone WBC champ Wilder. “After I beat Wilder I will have achieved everything and won every single belt there is – English, Irish, British, Commonwealth, European, a whole lot of international and intercontinental belts, every single world title belt and two Ring Magazine belts,” he said.
“There’s just about room at home for the WBC belt. I’ll get another cabinet for it, but it’ll be touching the roof.
“The only belt I didn’t win, which
I’m pretty p **** d about, is the Central Area title.
I think it’s vacant.
“I’ll have completed the game. When you get a computer game and you complete it, you get to the end, it’s all easy then. On Saturday night I will complete the toughest sport in the world. Finished it.”
The legendary Manny Steward helped Fury on his remarkable journey by inviting him over to his fabled Kronk gym in 2010, two years before he died. Fury, 31, has tried to sprinkle some Kronk magic dust on his camp by bringing his nephew SugarHill Steward and former pupil Andy Lee on board for this fight.
“Manny would think this is great,” he said. “He said I’d be world champion back in the day, over 10 years ago.
“Now to win another world title with SugarHill, I know he would be smiling at that. All the boys back together. Me, SugarHill and Andy. Up to the old antics, less the whisky.”
Yet Fury has taken a huge gamble by making such sweeping changes to his team. There has been persistent talk of problems in camp and with sparring, which Fury has consistently denied.
Yet there are still unanswered questions about Fury’s mental well-being.
His tactical switch to go for the KO against arguably the most-destructive heavyweight ever ranks somewhere between the risky and the suicidal. He intends to be a stone heavier but, while that may boost his power and punch resistance, it also blunts his principal weapons of speed and movement.
Then there is the cut over his right eye sustained against Otto Wallin in September, which required 47 stitches to repair, and Fury readily admits it could re-open.
With so many question marks against Fury, logic dictates the human wrecking ball that is Wilder will stop him.
This time there will be no miraculous rise from the canvas in the 12th round to beat the count. But when did logic ever apply to Tyson Fury?
Don’t forget he supposedly had no chance against Wladimir Klitschko and Wilder.
So do not be surprised if he does what many here think is improbable and beats the unbeatable Wilder to rule the world once again.
Then he can head to the Bahamas.
This is my time in the stars, my time in the sun