Fists of Fury

This is surreal.  I’m on my way to Lancaster to interview Tyson Fury – the current British and Commonwealth Heavyweight Boxing Champion.  With Britain’s reputation in this division at an all time low, can this hungry young fighter rescue us from complete obliteration within the realm of the Heavyweights?  Well folks, I’m about to find out...  

I’m due to meet Fury at his home from home – a caravan parked in his Uncle Hughie’s yard, situated next to his very own boxing gym.  Truth be told I have no idea what to expect and if I’m honest, am a little worried. 

You see, I’ve read all about Tyson’s gypsy upbringing and am well aware that fighting is in his very blood.  I’ve also read about Tyson’s Dad, who’s currently in prison for gauging out a man’s eye with his bare finger (yes, you heard, his FINGER).  So yup, I’m fairly scared.  I mean what if he’s got a dog?  A big fat gypsy dog that mauls me to death.  Balls.  Maybe this is a bad idea?       

I arrive at the main house, take a deep breath and knock on the door.  No barking.  Result. 

I am quickly shown to the caravan where Tyson stays and am then introduced to his family.  It soon becomes apparent that I need not worry, they are all lovely.  His gorgeous wife (Paris) busies herself in the kitchen and his two year old daughter (Venezuela) plays quietly as I sit down with her Daddy and ask him about punching people’s lights out.

Talking the talk...

‘I really believe that when it’s my time to fight for the World title,’ Tyson Fury takes a moment and pauses for effect ‘I will cause so much damage and uproar, that the world is going to go crazy.  It is my destiny to become the Champion of the World.’  That’s fairly big talk for a young lad raised in a caravan in Manchester.  But then again, at 6 foot 9 inches and 18 stone, big talk is somewhat fitting.  Fury gained his title following a comfortable defeat over former champ Derek Chisora earlier this year.  He remains undefeated, having triumphed against Nicholas Firtha just last month.  He’s got fire in belly, fighting in his blood and he means business. 

Son of John ‘The Gypsy’ Fury…

These days his home from home is the caravan stood next to one of his two gyms.  Separated from other travellers, it allows Tyson to get his head down and provides him with much greater focus.  A situation that is actually somewhat familiar to him - ‘when we grew up, we never really lived on a big site or went around with much travellers to be honest.  We were really isolated from them until I got married basically.’  He informs me that he had a traditional wedding, but that there was nothing big or fat about it. 

Tyson’s father, John Fury, built up a reputation as a bare knuckle fighter, so I’m keen to find out if he too cut his teeth on the streets?  The answer is absolutely not. ‘I wouldn’t be interested in bare knuckle fighting.  I’m a high performance athlete, yeah?  In professional sports.  So for me to go down to bare knuckle fighting on the streets is just nonsense really.’  Tyson is only interested in boxing, not fighting - clearly two different things in his mind.  ‘To be honest, I’ve not had a fight outside the boxing ring in my life.  And that’s hard [to believe] coming from me, isn’t it?  But I’ve never had a fight.  The area I grew up in wasn’t like a rough area.  And most of the time I’ve been in the gym, I’ve been a boxer, so I kept out of trouble thank God.’ 

Big man, big ambitions…

The heavyweight division, particularly in this country, is in a sorry state.  And with Tyson admitting to only starting a serious training regime recently (despite having been professional for 3 years) it’s easy to understand why.  His lifestyle of partying, eating junk and drinking took a dramatic turn on 19^th December 2010, when Tyson saw the replay of his fight with Zack Page.  ‘I looked in outrageous shape, like, I looked disgusting, it was horrible.  In boxing, if you look in bad shape, people criticise you for being out of shape - rather than your actual strength and the fact that you’ve won.’  Since then, he’s adopted an entirely different approach and is certainly a man with a plan.  And a very grand plan it is too. 

‘The Klitschkos ain’t very far away to be honest, so I’m absolutely taking it deadly serious.  Me diet’s 100% and I’ve got everything I need now [points to his gym].  For my last fight I was in good shape and I keep getting better all the time.  Now we’ve got the channel 5 deal, this is hopefully gonna build my profile and I’ll be a household name within 18 months.’ By which time, he says he’ll be ready to take on one of the Klitschkos – and win.  But why wait so long?  ‘Professional boxing is a business and I’m a businessman.  I ain’t just gonna fight for a few quid when I could build a big fight up and get paid a lot of money.  It’s all about building big fights and getting the nation behind me.’ 

Of course, by this time it is entirely possible that one, if not both of the Klitschkos will have retired, so isn’t that all a bit of a cop out?  He insists not.  ‘If they’ve retired then good riddance to 'em!  If not, then it’ll be time to unleash the Fury!’  Furthering his bravado, he goes on ‘oh and I’m not going to Germany.  They’ve got to come here because they need me, more that I need them.  They’ve never fought someone so big as me before.  Never fought someone as young and as ambitious as me before.  And have never fought anyone as dangerous as me before.  I believe I can beat any man in the world and it’s just about the right timing.’ 

There’s no business like show business…

Named after the great Mike Tyson, Fury’s love for the fight game has led him to strive for a reputation rivalling the great and the good; ‘Look at Muhammad Ali, look what he done.  Look at Naseem Hamed coming in on his magic carpet.  Look at Mike [Tyson] and the extravagant stuff he’s done.  This is entertainment, show business, it’s not just a sport.  I’m here to entertain the boxing world and the general public.  So I’ll do what I have to do.  If it means coming in on a white horse in me underpants, that’s what I’ll do.’  

During his fight with Chisora he went the distance and won on points, something he’s never done before but is keen to make a habit of, in order to ensure his fights are every bit as entertaining as his entrances.  ‘With the next 5 fights, I’m hoping that I’m not gonna knock anyone out – if they’re there to get knocked out, they will be – but we’re trying to get me some tough opponents to get me ready for these big guys.  There’s nothing better than actually getting the rounds in with dangerous opponents.’  His last fight was won by stoppage, so this strategy has yet to come into effect.  


Regardless, it’s evident that Tyson knows he’s not ready to take on Eastern Europe just yet.

Eye of the tiger…

In order to achieve these dizzy heights, having a gym a mere stone’s throw away comes in mighty handy when trying to focus oneself.  Tyson has a seriously cool set-up.  From the cold concrete floor, to the well-worn speedball, from the rusty weights to the broken mirrors, it is a real boxers gym. There is a leaky roof, which Tyson jokily refers to has his ‘inbuilt cooling system’ and a rugged boxing ring, which dominates the space.  A few miles away in Manchester, he also has a state of the art shiny new gym.  But Tyson prefers it here, ‘I like old-fashioned back street gyms.  Being in an old gym, in a scruffy place is better for me.’  It’s easy to imagine him running up and down the steps of the local town hall, for make no mistake, he is a walking talking Rocky.  In more ways than one. 

The only other thing that Tyson lives for is his family.  It would seem that on this front his plans are equally ambitious.  ‘We’re hoping to get about 10 children in.  Being a gypsy, that’s what travellers do, we have big families.  I think what’s the point in getting married if you’re not going to have any kids?  God’s allowing us to have kids, so we take advantage of it.  That’s what this is for basically.  I’m gonna go as far as I can in boxing and earn as much money as I can to keep all me family in the future.  I’m just gonna give them the opportunities that I never had when I was a child.’

The future’s fast, the future’s Furyous…

So the future’s bright in camp Fury and as yet nobody’s managed to topple Tyson, but is he fearful of defeat?  Far from it, apparently he considers it to be character building. ‘Well I could easily remain an undefeated fighter if I wanted to retire!  But I’m not finished just yet.  Look at all the great fighters, they’ve all lost, sooner or later.  It’s not about if a man loses, it’s how you bounce back from it and what comes next.  Great champions aren’t made from losing one fight and then quitting.  Great champions are made from coming back, from nowhere, to being the great once again.’


Fury definitely embodies an addiction to the sport common to the greats of yesteryear.  Irrespective of the glory he craves, he says ‘I just love boxing.  Some people wanna get in and out quickly, I’ve been doing it all my life.  I don’t know anything else, so I’ll be boxing until I can’t box anymore.  So what’s the next step on his path to glory?  ‘Well, I can’t really say too much, but we have got a big big date, a big surprise coming up in the new year.’   

Not everyone is convinced by Tyson’s plan though and he certainly still has a lot to prove - accusations of poor technique and easy opponents have done him no favours.  Whatever your opinion of him though, you can’t deny that Tyson Fury is entertaining and is just what the sport needs right now - ‘I aint in this just to earn money and to be a boxer, I’m in it to leave a mark in life and for people to remember me for the next hundred years as they do Achilles and all the greats.’  Right then.  Should be interesting.   

Tyson and I in his gym.  I was in my element.  He's so lovely! 

Special thanks to Jide Fadojutimi for the photos.  You're quite simply awesome. x

  

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