Old-school gladiator Fury goes back to his roots for third showdown
hchampion
pledges to ‘maul’ Wilder after sleeping in caravan, abstaining from sex and tapping into his bare-knuckle heritage
No sex during camp, sleeping in his caravan in Morecambe behind his family home, and adopting a grizzly bear as his spiritual animal have been the unusual changes for Tyson Fury as the heavyweight prepares to defend his World Boxing Council belt against arch-rival Deontay Wilder here on Saturday night.
It has been all change for Fury in camp heading into his third contest with the Alabaman, and much of the training period has been based at home in Lancashire.
Being there has meant that Fury’s father, John, has had input into the strategy to face Wilder once again, alongside official trainer Sugarhill Steward, the nephew of the late, great Manny Steward, of the Kronk Gym in Detroit.
After a defensive fight when Fury and Wilder met the first time, which ended in a draw, Fury adopted the “Kronk Style” of aggression for last year’s contest, which Fury won powerfully on the front foot, dropping Wilder twice on the way to a seventh-round stoppage. This third encounter is expected to herald a similar plan from Fury, as his father explained.
“I’ve just told Tyson to be aware of the adjustments Wilder may make,” Fury Snr said. “Because he has to. Wilder has got to make adjustments. Do I think he can make a great difference? No, I don’t. Do I think he’s got a brilliant trainer? No, I don’t. He’s probably telling him all the things he wants to hear.
“Am I worried about Deontay Wilder? No. Because Tyson knows he can never be complacent, and never take things for granted. He’s got to go like he’s trying to win the belt, not defend it.
“Every avenue is a dangerous avenue. Tyson has left no stone unturned. He has had a good, sensible camp. He’s had minimal people there. The backslappers are gone, as are the silly talkers and the pipe dreamers. He can do without all of them. He’s moving on and benefiting from that.”
Steward, meanwhile, believes Fury’s superior ring IQ will carry him through, and sees his fighter’s skills being both a “sword and shield” when battle recommences.
Bob Arum, Fury’s Las Vegas promoter, also added to the unusual practises of his fighter, explaining: “Fury always changes things up, keeps himself transformational. He has planned another amazing walkin to the ring, and he constantly wants to be not just a boxer, but an entertainer.
“One other change there has also been before this are the tight Covid19 protocols his team have kept him under ahead of this fight after what happened in the summer. And I’d add this – while I’ve promoted the likes of Muhammad Ali, and Manny Pacquiao, of course, who are extraordinary people, there is a quality about Fury which is otherworldly, I’d even say supernatural. There is a quality about him that the other heavyweights simply do not have. He draws on a strange power. I’m backing him to get the job done.”
Fury, meanwhile, said yesterday that he must stay confident in his own abilities, but that the changes in camp had all been positive.
Sporting a mark under one of his
‘He is other-worldly and draws on a strange power. I’m backing him to get the job done’
eyes after the final days of sparring, the 33-year-old delighted in explaining life in his caravan behind his family home.
“I was sleeping in the caravan behind my house and it took me back to what my ancestors used to do, and made me feel all of that DNA from the generations of bareknuckle fighters and boxers in the family,” he explained with a grin.
Fury also pointed out that it was a reminder that he had lived in a caravan prior to facing and defeating Wladimir Klitschko in 2015. “Those were good times, and it is always, always good to get back to your roots.”
Sporting a beard – he was cleanshaven for his assault on Wilder 20 months ago here – Fury was quick to point out that the facial hair was there for a reason.
“I’ve adopted the animal spirit of a grizzly bear, because I’m going to go in there on Saturday night and maul him – I’m going to maul the Bronze Bomber into submission.”
Fury has abstained from sex during this training camp, saying: “I’m an old-school fighter. For this camp, I have not been having any sex because I believe, like the ancient gladiators, that it softens you ahead of the clashes and collisions.”
Do the changes, however bizarre or unusual, matter? In a fighter’s mind, it is all about self-belief, and with Fury, being mentally strong, allied with his extraordinary boxing skills and calm, it makes for a powerful force.