Tyson’s planning to box on and on in bid to match Klitschko
TYSON Fury wants to emulate Wladimir Klitschko’s long dominance of the heavyweight scene.
Klitschko was undisputed world champion for more than four years until the Manchester fighter knocked him off his perch in 2015.
Fury never defended the titles he won from the Ukrainian as he suffered mental health problems, but he bounced back in stunning fashion by reclaiming the WBC belt in February with an emphatic win over Deontay Wilder, who he is due to face again after the coronavirus crisis eases.
“I’ve won every single belt in boxing. From the English title to becoming the undisputed heavyweight champ of the world. All done, all finished. Considered the best, done,” said 31-year-old Fury.
“If I don’t box again, I’m happy, but if I do box again, then I continue to box. If we get past this thing, which hopefully we will, then we’re going to keep boxing and just keep taking on contenders.
“Klitschko did it until he was 40. A lot of the great champions are continuing, and continuing.
“I ain’t boxing for money, I ain’t boxing for fame, I ain’t boxing for a belt. I’m boxing because it keeps me mentally happy and I like to do it.”
Fury, who is set to face Anthony Joshua, possibly over two fights, after fulfilling his contractual obligations for a third fight with Wilder, added: “I have nothing to prove to anybody. Not one thing to prove at all, but I box now, because I love boxing and I’ve been doing it all my life.
“Why walk away when I’m still only young?”
Meanwhile, Ricky Hatton has hailed ‘good friend’ Fury as the person who helped him at his lowest ebb during lockdown.
Hyde’s former lightwelterweight and welterweight world champion opened up about how a bereavement in his family led to him feeling ‘a bit down’.
Lockdown made it impossible for the Hitman to comfort his loved ones at the time, but the Gypsy King came to his rescue after he wrote a post on Instagram.
Ricky said Fury was on the phone within minutes.
He said: “I’ve been a friend of Tyson for years. I had a death in the family which is very upsetting because you want to be there for your family when things like this happen.
“But because of the lockdown I wasn’t able to do this, give support to my loved ones.
“It got me down a bit so I posted on my Instagram and within two minutes the phone went and it was Tyson.
“Hey Ricky, how are you doing, what’s up? That’s what you need, you need good friends around you, good people, and Tyson is certainly one of them,”
Hatton revealed he has lost a stone in weight during lockdown thanks to his rigorous exercise regime.