Tyson Fury puts on the gloves again this weekend against Oleksandr Usyk. Photo: Getty Images/Richard Pelham
One moment Tyson Fury wants to become 'the first £500 million heavyweight boxer', the next he doesn't care about his legacy and just wants to 'beat stupid sausage' Oleksandr Usyk here on Saturday in the evening, then moves on to a detailed historical thesis on the heavyweight division. This is typical Fury: a series of zigzags, sometimes contradictory.
Choosing a route through Fury's changing consciousness was never easy. The 19th-ranked 6ft 9in boxer will transform into his alter ego “The Gypsy King” this week ahead of the biggest fight of his career since he first became heavyweight champion by dethroning Wladimir Klitschko nine years ago.< /p>
Up close, Fury looks in great shape ahead of his first undisputed heavyweight title fight in a quarter of a century. He says he's in “the same shape as when I fought Klitschko,” but he's a completely different fighter now, with miles to his name: 30 penalty rounds against Deontay Wilder, brawl, 10 rounds against former UFC champion heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, last October, cuts and scars around the eyes. Add to that a rise to 29th place and a two-year spell in the desert, and Fury, who turned 36 in August, is surely close to calling it quits for good.
The undefeated Fury, who has previously announced his retirement on several occasions, says he will fight “eight to ten more times before he's 40” – with the support of His Excellency Turki Alalshih, the Saudi minister and his big supporter – before adding: “Happy days, c These fights will make me the first ever £500 million heavyweight boxer.”
It will be a legacy of sorts.
However, Fury becomes stubborn about his legacy. “Look, this is an important fight, but again, I hate to say it because boxing fans, boxing supporters and all these devils don't want to hear it, but what makes you think I'm a box? For money. If anyone in this building or anyone in professional boxing tells me they are not in this game for the money, they are lying to you, and I speak from the bottom of my heart. I'm doing this for a test. The bigger the deal, the better. I am a boxing expert. This is what I do. I'm fighting for the prize, be it gold bars, gold coins, cash, transfers, cars, whatever you want to pay me, pay me in sandbags, whatever, as long as I can drink from it, the deal is done.”
“I'll go there to get money, get laid and go back to Morecambe Bay”The epicenter of the megafights right now is Saudi Arabia with its huge investment in the sport. “The Saudis are amazing, very welcoming,” explains Fury, who has been on edge for the past two weeks. “Everything here is exactly the opposite of what I heard. Look, this fight with me and Usik was done with Turki, His Excellency, in 25 minutes. That's all it took. It's a good fight, I'm not too worried about what people will say in 100 years. There won't be dust from our bones in 100 years, let alone talking about a boxing match in 100 years. We will all die, my children will die, my wife will die, my father will die, everyone I ever cared about will disappear.
“So I'm going there to get some money, get laid and go back to Morecambe Bay. I probably won't even buy anything because I don't need anything. I'll go to the store and buy some groceries, I'll probably be stronger than today. I’ll do the exact same thing with my revenge: I’ll get the money, I’ll get laid, I’ll go home to Morecambe Bay and still not buy anything.”
Although Fury is somewhat dismissive of his heritage, he is an astute student of the history of the heavyweight division and is quick to pay tribute to previous greats over the last 150 years. He discusses John L. Sullivan being a “pioneer”, becomes lyrical about gypsy knuckle champion Jem Mays and talks about “gentleman” Jim Corbett, before telling stories about Gene Tunney, Jack Dempsey, Primo Carnera, Joe Louis and others. He calls Muhammad Ali “the greatest of all time” and then shares his admiration for Mike Tyson's “division knowledge.”
Wife Paris is a devoted supporter of Tyson. Photo: Getty Images/Richard Pelham
Fury will need the cloak of invincibility against two more opponents – Usyk and then Anthony Joshua – and the era will be his, just as previous eras are now stamped with the names of Lennox Lewis, Tyson, Ali, Louis and Jack Johnson. The agreement with Usyk is for two fights, and Joshua is scheduled for March 2025. But in boxing, things can change quickly.
This fight with Usyk was postponed from February 17 due to Fury cutting his eye in sparring. “I'm not worried about the eyes,” Fury explains. “If they cut it, the views will go up, there will be blood everywhere, and I won’t let them stop the fight.
“I want to ruin it. I just want to beat this stupid sausage. Yes, Usyk is fast, talented, he outboxed big heavyweight Anthony Joshua twice, but AJ is one-dimensional, one-dimensional, and I could outbox him blindfolded. I’m just different.”
Tyson Fury will personally meet with Oleksandr Usyk. Photo: Getty Images/Alex Pantling
The outcome of the fight with Usyk may depend on which version of the Gypsy King appears at the Kingdom Stadium. Indeed, there is no shortage of respected voices in the industry who are choosing Usik to outbox the British heavyweight.
However, Alalshikh called Fury the “diamond” of boxing. Why? “It’s because I’m charismatic, tall, controversial, handsome, can fight… all of the above. That's why. The sport today lacks characters, there are a lot of businessmen and cash registers, but not many characters. I'm dying in this game.
“All I can do on a Saturday night is go out there, do my best and win, lose or draw, do my best, and damn it < /p>
Will he have bad intentions in the fight with Usyk? “I’ll tickle his balls,” Fury suggests with a grin. “Seriously, I'll do whatever I can, whatever it is…”
The Gypsy King should have done well, if not great, in defeating the Ukrainian known as “The Cat.” .
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