Tyson outboxed Klitschko, so he’ll definitely outbox Wilder
‘Master’ Roach tips Fury
WHEN Tyson Fury came down in a hurry from Big Bear mountain with a touch of altitude sickness, he needed a place to catch his breath and resume preparing to fight the heaviest knockout puncher in boxing.
Where better than the sweat factory where world champions are precision made by the trainer they call The Master?
Freddie Roach had heard lurid tales about some members of the travelling community but when the knock came on the door of his revered Wild Card gym in Hollywood he took in the Gypsy King without a moment’s hesitation.
Not for a second has he regretted that decision.
‘Tyson is an absolute gentleman and he has behaved like a gentleman every day,’ says Roach. ‘The first thing he asked was what I would charge for him to use the gym. I told him that I don’t charge world champions. It’s been really nice to have him here. A pleasure.’
If that seems at odds with Fury’s history of erratic behaviour then it is important to remember that he was at his most troubled when plagued by mental health issues including clinical depression.
Now he says he is ‘managing’ that condition by throwing himself back into the sport which has made him famous.
Roach is happy to help that process, partly by accepting a surprise invitation to join Fury’s lead trainer Ben Davison in the corner for Saturday night’s challenge to the WBC world heavyweight champion, Deontay Wilder.
‘I don’t know why he even went to altitude,’ says this wise man who uses boxing, in part, to stave off the advance of Parkinson’s. ‘There are people who believe in the benefits but the latest research suggests it is better to not bother.
‘It’s especially difficult for big heavyweights to work hard on less oxygen. Tyson was suffering a bit but he’s in much better shape than I thought he would be.’
Roach added: ‘Out of the blue Tyson asked me if I would work with the team on this fight. I said I’d love to but I didn’t want him to have too many coaches. So he asked if I could do cuts. I said yes but we had two doctors who are better than me. But officially I’m the cuts man.’
And unofficially? ‘ Well,’ says Roach, ‘ a little strategy. He and Ben have worked on their plan but if there’s something I have to offer I mention it.’
Roach is careful not to tread on Davison’s toes and says: ‘Ben will be the one in the ring between rounds. But if I see something during the fight I will talk to Ben from outside the ropes and it will be his decision whether to pass it on.’
Roach knows how deadly Wilder can be if given the chance to trade big punches but he believes Fury is the man to evade those blows, if he repeats the elusive formula which brought him his famous world title win over Wladimir Klitschko three years ago.
He says: ‘Wilder has a heavy right hand but Tyson has the vision to see the blows coming and the brain to slip away if he sees Deontay cocking his fist to throw his biggest punch. He is very athletic and mobile for someone so big.’
But he reminds Fury that outpointing Wilder in the US will require more than being slippery. Roach says: ‘ One day he said to me he had just gone three minutes without being hit once. I said very good but he would have to land a couple of punches to win the round.’
Wilder is favourite to win but Roach says: ‘In my view Tyson should be favourite. If he can outbox Klitschko he can outbox Wilder, who is not as good as Wladimir.’
Wilder v Fury will be televised live late on Saturday night exclusively on BT Sports Box Office, at £19.95.