Tyson Fury is as boisterous and full of braggadocio as ever heading into the biggest fight in British boxing history.
The WBC heavyweight champion took a two-step to Texas and traveled to watch fellow Gypsy mate Billy Joe Saunders collide with Canelo Alvarez.
Fury used the extra spotlight of a big fight week to ramp up the promotion of his mega heavyweight unification fight later this summer against the WBO, WBA, IBF and IBO champion Anthony Joshua.
“I can’t wait to get the big dosser in the ring to give him a good hiding, and to prove to the world what a fake he is,” Fury told Joshua promoter and Matchroom Boxing head Eddie Hearn on “No Passion, No Point” “I’ve been waiting for a British rival for so long, and they always get bumped off along the way somehow.
“There’s only one champion in the world and that’s ‘The Gypsy King,’ undefeated, indestructible, unbeatable, and will never lose a fight in the history of the sport ever. I will retire with a crown. I’m not lucky, I’m blessed. I can’t be beaten by a normal fighting man.”
The 32-year-old Fury (30-0-1), who has previously shown severe signs of self-destruction with drug and alcohol abuse as well as obesity, said the only fighter who could beat him is himself.
“A.J. couldn’t lace my boots,” he said. “I’ll tell you what punch [I’m going to hurt Joshua with], even give my gameplan away. It’ll be a check left hook to the temple. He’ll fall on his face. He may get up, then I’ll knock him out with the overhand right, goodnight.”
The back and forth talk featured Hearn expressing his opinion stating that he didn’t think Fury would be able to beat Deontay Wilder.
“I thought you had no chance whatsoever,” said Hearn. “As the rounds went by, I just thought, ‘[Fury] is going to get chinned in a minute, what’s going on?’ I didn’t think you’d beat Wilder the first time [in 2018], but you did but you didn’t get the decision. I thought you’d beat him the second time [in 2020], and you did.”
Fury quipped back to Hearn and said, “I didn’t just beat [Wilder] the second time, I took his soul and ate it and I still have his mojo in my pocket.”
He then moved on to the 31-year-old Joshua (24-1, 22 KOs).
“You’ve done an absolutely fantastic job [building and promoting Joshua], congratulations,” said Fury. “You took an amateur boxer and made him into a superstar and the finished article. It’s just a shame he has to be in the same era as the Gypsy King.”
BY: MANOUK AKOPYAN