‘I am just one fight away from what I want in life’
Hughie Fury could take on Joshua for the world title if he wins next Saturday, he tells Gareth A Davies
Hughie Fury was giving very little away – in fact, the 6ft 6in cousin of Tyson Fury rarely does – as he prepares to face Bulgaria’s Kubrat Pulev in Sofia, Bulgaria next Saturday in a final eliminator for the International Boxing Federation heavyweight title. The championship belt is held by Anthony Joshua.
Big fight for Fury, this. Victory over Pulev could raise the 24-year-old into major money nights. “This is just one fight away from getting to where
I need to be and what I want in life – a world champion,” the mild-mannered fighter told The Sunday Telegraph.
The plan for the cousins from the fighting Fury family has always been to become “the new Klitschkos”, and dominate boxing’s blue riband division as the Ukrainians Wladimir and Vitali once did. Unquestionably, success in Sofia would see Fury climb into the mix for a challenge at Joshua, the current IBF, World Boxing Association and World Boxing Organisation champion. Wembley Stadium, in April, could yet be viable.
Five weeks after Hughie meets Pulev – a star in his homeland – cousin Tyson Fury clashes with the American Deontay Wilder in Los Angeles, for the other heavyweight crown, the World Boxing Council title, held by the Alabaman. With two victories, the pieces on the heavyweight chess board could threaten Joshua. Yet fascinating with Fury is just how mild-mannered he is in comparison to cousin Tyson.
“I wish Tyson all the best and hope he does the business,” Fury said.
With 21 victories in his career, Fury has already challenged once for a world title in his only defeat to date, by New Zealand’s Joseph Parker 13 months ago. Had Fury been more active, he may have just nicked the decision on the judges’ cards.
Parker went on to lose the WBO title to Joshua in March this year. In the meantime, Fury came back from defeat and claimed the British title against Sam Sexton five months ago, before accepting the chance to face Pulev, whose only blemish is a defeat by Wladimir Klitschko in a 26-fight career. It was Pulev, now 37, who pulled out at the 11th hour against Joshua last October in Cardiff, to be replaced by Carlos Takam. Joshua won in 10 rounds.
In Pulev, Fury will face a veteran with a tricky, defensive style fighting at home. His partner is Teodora Rumenova Andreeva, better known by her stage name Andrea, a Bulgarian pop-folk singer, and the pair are a celebrity couple.
While admitting that the fight at the 12,000-seat Arena Armeec will be like “going into the lion’s den” Fury is unfazed, insisting that he is driven only by the prospects of success.
“Hopefully I get past this one and onto the next. Pulev’s a good boxer. A very experienced fighter,” said Fury. “But styles make fights and I think it’s going to be a good fight.”
The game plan? “Our strategy is planned, so you’ll soon find out. I’ll fight Pulev any way. It all depends on what he tries to do. He could try to box. He could try to come forward. I’ll only know when we jump in the ring.”
After training hard at Lake Windermere for the Parker fight, undergoing a military-style training camp involving mountain running, chopping logs and swimming in the freezing cold lake, it has been a more orthodox camp with hard sparring in Bolton this time. “This camp has been torture, my body feels like s---. But now I’m in the right mindset and ready to rock and roll.”
He is trained by his father, Peter, instrumental in his cousin’s defeat of Klitschko in Germany in 2015, where Tyson won three world title belts. “It’s very important to me to have my dad in the corner. He’s one of the best trainers in the world. Together we are a very good team and you’ll see something special from us. My dad and I just both get on with it and do our job. You can’t take no better advice than from your dad, so I’ve got to listen. He deserves all the credit he gets.”
Pulev has claimed that heavyweights Dillian Whyte and Jarrell Miller, both promoted by Eddie Hearn, turned down the chance to face him. Not Hughie. “It was an opportunity I couldn’t turn down. My concentration at the minute is to just get past Pulev, but the Joshua fight is one I really want, and I’d take it at the first opportunity.” Arguably, Fury has not had the credit he deserves thus far. “I’m not one of those to dwell on it. I get on with it,” he said. He rarely indulges in trash-talk. “I let my fists do the talking inside the ring. I’ve got no interest in any of that rubbish. “I keep myself to myself. I keep my head down, and just put the work in behind the scenes. “Unifying the division, getting to the top, is my only goal and 100 per cent I will be a world champion.”
‘Unifying the division, getting to the top, is my only goal and 100 per cent I will be a world champion’