By Terence Dooley

Tyson Fury turned pro last December and the 21-year-old heavyweight has been on the fast track ever since; he rode the crest of a seven-fight winning streak before being brought down to earth by John McDermott during their English title fight.  Sure, Fury won that one on the cards but many thought that he had deserved to lose, and the big man himself admitted that his performance had not lived up to his high expectations.

Fury, who stands tall at 6’ 7’’, has had more trainers than a chronic athlete’s foot sufferer and is now in league with Pat Barrett and Brian Hughes. BoxingScene.com caught up with Fury at Hughes’ Collyhurst gym and the 9-0 (7) British heavyweight hopeful declared that he had his ‘talking head’ on.

Firstly, he told us that he is now fully settled in his new surroundings.  “Everything is going good.  The Atmosphere is brilliant,” he enthused. 

“I can’t wait to get here in the morning.  I was travelling to Nottingham to work with Rob McCracken and this is easier, it is local, I get on with the trainers, so it is ideal.  Pat and Brian are my trainers now; it is a bit of a mixed team.  Pat does the pad work and Brian does the technique and old-school defensive stuff, so I’m getting it all together.  I’m getting a good education.”

So, the million-dollar question: has Fury finally found his perfect training team.  “I think I’ve made the right move now”, he answered, “I’ve travelled around a lot and the time has come to knuckle down and get settled in.”

He added: “I think 2010 is going to be a massive, massive year, the launch of Tyson Fury.  2009 was a big year for me but that was just the tip of the iceberg.  I’ve got some big fights lined up for me this year, some big title fights as well, so I think it is all warming up for me.  My experience is coming on.”

Fury’s hard-fought for English title is now yesterday’s news; the fighter relinquished the belt after an injury to his right hand prevented him from meeting McDermott in a proposed rematch.  Darren will now fight Derek Chisora for the vacant belt.

“To be honest with you, I was disappointed for about ten seconds”, said Fury when talking about the loss of the title, “but it is god’s will, what will be will be and what is not meant to be will go by you.  It was meant to happen and it turns out that I’ve got something better lined up.  Chisora and McDermott are fighting for the English and the winner has to fight me to take on the winner of Williams and Sexton, with the British title on the line.  It has worked out well for me.

“I’m not in a rush.  I’ll take things nice and steady, learning my trade, get a bit more exposure and build my profile in 2010.  I think - without making any prediction - that the Chisora and McDermott fight will be a good fight but I won’t mention who I think is going to win.  2010 is when I quieten my mouth down and let these do the talking [points to his fists].  The talking is good but you need the fights, and performances, to back it up, really.  Until I can get the fights to show what I can do properly I won’t be doing any talking.”

Indeed, it was good of Fury to bring his mouth into the conversation; the fighter has a reputation for being a bit lippy.  I found him to be quietly confident and nothing like the brash, confident caricature depicted in the press.  Fury leaned forward, his voiced dipped into an almost conspiratorial whisper and he discussed his tendency to shoot off at the lips.

“I talked myself to an English title and to a high profile in only nine fights,” whispered Fury.  “Ask any boxing fan, they’ve heard of Tyson Fury, after nine fights.  You shouldn’t have heard from me but I shouted my name out and raised my profile.  It was a steep learning curve but I had to take it.  They couldn’t get anyone to fight me early on so I had to take the tough fights, who else would fight McDermott after seven fights, fighters usually like to take it slow don’t they?  I’ve got all the time in the world.”

Still, the temptation to have a pop at some of the big names was lurking just around the corner.  “After watching Klitschko and Johnson I want to fight for a title now,” blasted Fury.

“Them two were pathetic the other night.  I watched that and feel that the world is my oyster.  Did you see Alexander Ustinov and Monte Barrett?  They were useless – I’d stop them both.  I don’t want to be badmouthing other fighters but I’d have done them both in.  Look at your other fighters as well, there were a few heavyweights on that bill and they weren’t up to much.  I’m going to box on the Robert Stieglitz-Edison Miranda bill in Germany so I’ll get another chance to look at their heavyweights.

“I want to be compared with the likes of Alexander Povetkin and Robert Helenius and in my next one I’m going to work the jab, work the jab, and then work it some more.  I want to master the jab in 2010.  I want people to see that I can box.”

Fury’s excessive use of the jab during recent training sessions has been brought about by necessity; as mentioned, Fury injured his right hand during his win over Tomas Mrazek in September.  Tyson, though, believes that the injury to his right hand was fate’s way of asking his left hand to rise to the challenge.

“I’ve been working on my left hand in sparring,” revealed Fury.  “I damaged my right hand and am giving it time to heal but working my left in the meantime.  I’ve just introduced weight training into my programme as well.  If you look good you physically you feel good mentally.”

Fury’s schedule has switched from furious activity to relative inertia; Tyson has been left frustrated by this brief boxing exile.  “I had the hand injury plus I couldn’t get an opponent,” he sighed. 

“I was supposed to box on the recent Jean Pascal bill in Montreal but that was pulled at the last minute because of the hand.  The learning fights will come, one in January, one in February and see where we go from there.  I want to fight in Manchester on the John Murray undercard.  This is my longest period from the ring but I’m working on new techniques and gelling with Pat and Brian.”

Fury’s recent denunciation of David Haye’s win over Nikolay Valuev put Fury’s name back amongst the headlines; the boxer himself, however, believes that the barbs of criticism are part-and-parcel of being a British heavyweight.

“I tell you what it is with the British public, they love to build you up but there are some critics who want to bring you back down, it is just commonsense.  They are crying out for a heavyweight who can fight, we’ve not had one since Lennox Lewis, and now David Haye, they want to see if you can fight and they really want you to be tested,” admitted Fury. 

“So far, I’ve had nine fights and I’ve had nine good tests, apart from the first fight – fighting people with more experience than me.  People are harsh on me, I’m only twenty-one and am a novice learning my trade.  I’d like people to think, ‘He’s only twenty-one, he’s had nine fights and is doing his best so we’ll get behind him’, and that will push me on.  I want people to want me to win.  I want British fighters to win, you have to get behind your lads.”

Fury confessed that his talk of big names stems from his urge to fight for the big titles.  “If my ambition was to win a Central Area title then I should pack up gloves,” he revealed.  “Or if my ambition was just to win the British and defend it a few times then I wouldn’t bother training.  Those are good titles to win but, for me, if I was getting my face smashed in, putting mileage on my physical clock, and on my brain, to just do that then I wouldn’t bother training. 

“My ambition is set at the highest level of boxing.  My aim is to be at the top, I won’t settle for second best.  I want to be the best at whatever I do.  If I’m in the trenches I know I can clench down and get through, do that little bit more than the other person.  In here is what counts [taps heart] you need that heart and will to win in the trenches.  Some boxers switch off and want to last the distance, but I want to win.  You saw that in the McDermott fight.  People thought I was finished after a few rounds but I gritted it out and came back to win.”

Fury’s problems were partly self-inflicted in that fight, sure he boxed badly, often lazy with the jab, but his loose, lank hair did him no favours in that one, by the late rounds he was flicking his fringe more often than he was flicking the jab, and looking slightly ludicrous whilst doing so.  “Yeah,” laughed Fury when asked if he’d be keeping it trim in future fights.  “The hair-do was a bit all over the place but as you can see I’ve sorted that now.”

Seriously, Fury believes that he has a right to lay out his future plans, that he should be confident, if he wants to reach the top the will need bags of self-belief.  Fury told me that this belief is one of his key weapons.

He told BoxingScene: “If I thought everyone could beat me up my confidence would be really low, but my confidence is right up there.  I believe, in my own head, in Tyson world or whatever you want to call it, that I can beat both Klitschkos, that I can beat David Haye, Chris Arreola, Alexander Povetkin, Eddie Chambers – I believe that I will beat them and reign supreme.  2010 is just the start.  I’ll get there and stay there, like Lewis did.  I want to defend my world titles and be one of those rare fighters who gives up their titles and doesn’t get relieved of them by getting beaten.  That takes time and effort but I’ll get there, and maintain.

“I am the only person who can beat me.  If I don’t eat right, train right and knuckle down then I don’t deserve to win, but that won’t happen.  Physically I’ve got it.  Ability and skill comes in time.  Natural attributes: speed, power, movement and a good chin, plus a big heart – I’ve got those.  The other things can be worked on.  You get a kid who can box like Sugar Ray Leonard but if he gets hit and goes down or quits, then kick him out off the gym - he’ll never be any good.  If you’ve got a kid who has the heart of a lion you can teach him to be a champion.

“If I go in there and get beat up in sparring I don’t go home and mope.  I hit that bag there and I’m thinking of what I did wrong.  That is what it takes to be a champion.  I’ve proved my worth already after only nine fights.  I’m going to take it steady and build it up like a nice house.  You get a good foundation for your house and then it goes up brick-by-brick, that is what I’m going to do with my boxing career.”

Finally, Fury, the boxed beamed before delivering his final missive of 2009.  “You’re going to hear a lot more Tyson Fury in 2010 but all I’m saying for now is that I hope everyone has a nice Christmas and a Happy New Year, and bring on the best heavyweights in Britain in 2010,” he laughed.

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