The fans may love Tyson Fury’s new all-action style, but he admits his dad hates it.
Fury sensationally stopped Deontay Wilder in their last two fights and says he has changed because the punters want to see excitement and knock-outs whenever he is in the ring rather than grinding opponents down.
Dillian Whyte is not convinced and feels the unbeaten WBC heavyweight champ is still “boring” while John Fury is unhappy with this tactics under trainer SugarHill Steward. He believes his son has the skill to outbox anyone on the back foot and feels standing in the pocket and trading is too risky.
“My dad doesn’t like me new style, he hates it,” said the Gypsy King. “He says ‘you’ve got the ability to make these men look like bums’. I say to him ‘that doesn’t sell pay-per-view, people want to see a knock-out’. Like SugarHill said, ‘we want to see knock-outs’, we don’t want to see a boxing display from heavyweights. If you want to see a boxing display, watch a welterweight. When you see a heavyweight, you want to see a knock-out, so we deliver knock-outs.”
Fury, 33, accepts his new strategy is dangerous and admits he will be playing Russian roulette with the heavy-handed Whyte. But he backs himself to win a war against any heavyweight in the world because he believes no-one can match his heart and chin. He said: “I’ll roll the dice, I’ll gun sling, it’s not a problem because I know I’ll win. I know they ain’t got balls like mine, or heart like mine or the chin. It’s really not fair for them to have a slugging match with me because if they get knocked out, they stay down. When I get hit and go down, I get back up and they think ‘I’m f****d now, I’m dead’.
“It’s either s**t or bust every time now, Russian roulette, him or me. I’m 6ft 9, 20stone, heart of a lion, I’ve got as good a chance as anyone, if not more. I used to box, jab, jab, move, move and I didn’t take any punches, no punishment. Then the last three fights, I’ve taken more punishment than I have in my whole career. But it’s been interesting and it’s been fun.”
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Fury is determined to put on a show for the British record 94,000 crowd at Wembley in his homecoming fight. It is a far cry from his last fight in Britain in June 2018 when a brawl among some of the fans at Manchester Arena was more entertaining than his contest with Sefer Seferi. He left the UK soon after to conquer Wilder, the US and the heavyweight division and tonight he will soak up the adulation on St George’s Day as England’s returning hero.
He has vowed to knock Whyte out and says the WBC mandatory challenger will go down when he detonates his explosive right hand on him. “Dillian’s a dangerous customer,” he said. “Slow feet, decent-enough hands, but he’s got a good counter left hook and he moves his head well. He’s a big heavyweight, he’s 6ft 3ins and he’s heavy, he’s 17-18 stone. He’s no pushover by any imagination, but unfortunately as soon as I crack him with this right hand, I swear to you all, I’m knocking him out.” After backing up everything he has said in the ring, expect Fury to deliver again and stop Whyte in the second half of the fight.
- BT Sport Box Office will show Fury v Whyte exclusively live from 6pm. For more information go to bt.com/sportboxoffice