Fury aims to ‘be one with belts’
DUSSELDORF: Having previously dressed as Batman for a press conference, Tyson Fury employed more theatrics on Wednesday by turning to song in the latest round of mind-games with Wladimir Klitschko.
World heavyweight champion Klitschko will defend his IBF, WBA and IBO titles against British challenger Fury in Dusseldorf tomorrow.
Fury, 27, ran into a press conference last September dressed as Batman, then called Klitschko ‘a joker’ to his face, but he grabbed the microphone for his latest stunt.
At a training event for the press at Dusseldorf airport, the 2.06m (6ft 9in) Fury seized the chance to show off his singing ability.
He adapted the lyrics of the Bette Midler song ‘Wing Beneath My Wings’ to include the words “I’ll be the one with the belts”.
“I was impressed,” said Klitschko. “If it was down to singing, I’d have no chance. But things look different when it comes to boxing.”
This is not the first time Fury has showed off his vocal prowess, having sung the same song when he beat Kevin Johnson of the USA in Belfast in December 2012.
He also sang a different song in the ring after beating US boxer Steve Cunningham in New York in April 2013.
Rob Stewart will sing before tomorrow’s heavyweight bout in Dusseldorf and Fury wants to seek out the Scottish crooner for a duet if he beats Klitschko.
“I will enchant the fans, perhaps with a duet with Rod Stewart,” he told SID, an AFP subsidiary.
Meanwhile Britain’s former world heavyweight champion David Haye said he will make his comeback in a London fight against Australia’s Mark de Mori in January.
Haye, 35, last fought in July 2012 when he beat compatriot Dereck Chisora, but withdrew from proposed bouts against Manuel Charr and Fury the following year due to injury.
The smooth-talking Londoner was advised to retire by surgeons after undergoing shoulder surgery, but will now make his return against 33-year-old De Mori at the O2 Arena on Jan 16.
“I’m so happy to be able to step back through the ropes and back into the ring, where I do my best work,” Haye told a press conference at the fight venue.
“I’ve always set the bar high in my career and I will continue to do so. Please sit back and get ready for another fun-fuelled heavyweight campaign to the very top.”