BACK IN GLOVE WITH FURY

Tyson hopes Wilder display will win fans back again

TYSON FURY is confident his performance against Deontay Wilder will complete his rehabilitation from pugilistic pariah to British sporting hero.

Fury, 30, would have returned home a world champion for a second time, had it not been for controversial scoring in LA.

Despite being knocked down twice, he dominated the fight, only to be cruelly denied victory by the judges.

When he defeated Wladimir Klitschko three years ago (with his belts, right), Fury’s homophonic, sexist and antisemitic rants turned the public against him. His views led to calls for him to be removed from the Sports Personality of the Year shortlist, an award for which he is again among the favourites at the December 16 ceremony.

And Fury said: “Whatever happened, yesterday is history, so I’m just looking forward to tomorrow.

“We never know how we’re going to feel but I’m happy. Everything I trained for, I executed, and everything we did, we did.

“I couldn’t have done any better, I tried my heart out.

“I think it’s about time people saw the real Tyson

Fury – they’ve been seeing the real me since I came back. I hope everyone enjoyed the fight and I’ll be back stronger. I’ve definitely got the recognition from the fans and I feel like I’ve got more support than I’ve ever had.” Before challenging Wilder, Fury claimed he was a bigger draw in America than the country’s homegrown champion.

He endeared himself further to fans on both sides of the Atlantic, first by showing such resilience to rise from the canvas in the final round, and then by belting out a rendition of Don Mclean’s ‘American Pie’ at the post-fight press conference.

And Fury added: “I think the fight had a massive impact on America. Everybody there has heard the story of Tyson Fury, they’ve heard about the legend, but now they’ve seen him.

“They now know why – I’ve got the engaging personality. I’m just being myself, I’m not trying to act up or anything.”