Heavyweight Fury promising flurry vs. Schwarz in LV debut
British champion eager to showcase skill, power
Heavyweight boxers Tyson Fury and Tom Schwarz weren’t supposed to start their final news conference until noon Wednesday.
Fury had another idea.
The gregarious 30-year-old British champion seized the microphone a few minutes early inside MGM Grand’s David Copperfield Theater and showcased his personality and bravado during a playful, impromptu news conference of his own.
He plans on showcasing his boxing prowess in the ring Saturday.
Fury and Schwarz were at a sprightly ease Wednesday, three days before their fight at MGM Grand Garden Arena. Fury will be making his Las Vegas debut, and Schwarz, a German, his American debut on ESPN’S streaming platform, ESPN Plus.
Top Rank CEO Bob Arum, who signed Fury to a co-promotional deal in February, said he’s delighted with the reception the fighters have received.
“With Tyson Fury, all you had to do was get him into place so he could meet with the press, meet with the public, and you never had to tell him what to say because he knew better than we did,” said Arum, who compared Fury’s personality to that of Muhammad Ali and George Foreman. “Our matchmakers went over the tapes of (Schwarz) and his 24 victories, and we realize what a great fighter he is and what a great fight it will be.”
Fury (27-0-1, 19 knockouts) said Tuesday that he’s going to break Schwarz’s ribs and win by knockout, but he was friendly with his foe Wednesday. He wore a suit comprised of images of hundreds of boxers “to pay an homage to all the legends of boxing,” and promoted the power of positivity while speaking briefly about his ongoing battle with depression.
“We worked for a long time to get to this position,” the affable Fury said.
Schwarz (24-0, 16 KOS) wasn’t quite as vocal and appeared relaxed ahead of his first fight against a boxer of Fury’s caliber.
“It’s my time. Of course,” Schwarz, 25, said.
The fighters posed for photos, but Fury hardly stared at Schwarz. He instead posed in a variety of ways beside and behind the challenger.
With a smile that hardly left his face. “I’m enjoying one day at a time,” Fury said. “And taking life as it comes.”
Contact reporter Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ Bysamgordon on Twitter.