Hennessy: Tyson Fury Should Be Allowed To Be Himself
Sep 23, 2014 • 2:38 AM ET
By Duncan Johnstone
The loud-mouth world of boxing just got a little quieter with British heavyweight Tyson Fury taping his lips shut and refusing to speak to the media for eight weeks.
Fury fronted a press conference in London on Monday (NZT Tuesday) to promote his looming "Battle of Britain" clash with Dereck Chisora. But he didn't utter a word. Instead he had tape over his mouth with "BBB of C" written on it followed by question marks.
It was a protest reaction to being fined more than $30,000 by the British Boxing Board of Control for an expletive-filled tirade at Chisora earlier this year that also included him demolishing the top table.
This time Fury let his uncle and trainer, Peter, do his talking: "The Board wanted us to tone it down a bit so here's Tyson... the board dummy."
In a sport fuelled by trash-talk, Fury says he will remain silent with the media up to the November 29 fight.
He wouldn't even do the traditional "face-off" photo opportunity with Chisora today, turning his back on his opponent.
Fight promoter Mick Hennessy, clearly wasn't happy with proceedings.
"At the end of the day you need characters to be able to be themselves whatever they're confronted with. Sometimes you're going to get a gentleman with Tyson and sometimes, if he's rubbed up the wrong way, you'll get another side of him," Hennessy said.
"At the end of the day, surely he should be allowed to be himself. We could be in jeopardy of this fight not happening - we all want the fight to happen so that's what this is about."
Tyson, unbeaten over 22 fights, did intimate with sign language that he reckoned he would knock out Chisora in the first round.
Chisora said he didn't believe Fury could stay silent on the fight for eight weeks.
"I don't blame him [for the tape] ... that's a lot of money," Chisora said of the fine.
"He can keep the tape on for all the interviews but I think we could make a wager that he won't keep it on for the next eight weeks."
Fury won the first fight between the two, with a unanimous points decision in 2011.
