By Terence Dooley
Peter Fury touched base with BoxingScene.com earlier this week to bring us up-to-date on all things Fury ahead of his nephew’s world heavyweight title defence against Wladimir Klitschko at the Manchester Arena on July 9.
Fury meets Klitschko for the second time after the former Champion exercised his rematch clause following a decision loss back in November. At the first head-to-head presser, Fury lifted up his shirt to reveal an ample waistline and showed the assembled press that life, and food, is good when you are the king.
Peter, though, told me that the Champion is busy chiseling himself into fighting shape. “I’m very happy with Tyson, his weight is coming off the right way and he’s holding the muscle on,” he said when speaking to BoxingScene.
Perennially in the spotlight, Fury courted controversy during a media day last week after boasting about the size of his love length to various outlets.
Indeed, the outspoken heavyweight has garnered controversy and comments since the moment he lifted the belts. However, his uncle told me that the 27-year-old will continue to speak his mind, albeit it with a little more thought about who he is speaking to.
“He is the heavyweight Champion of the world now and we’ve had conversations about just how much it means,” he said. “Don’t forget, he’s 27 and went over there to win the world title. It is a lot to deal with, a lot to take in.
“Tyson has had a chance to calm down, reflect and think about what being world heavyweight Champion means. He’s in a very good place at the moment and certainly isn’t looking at being a fluke or some short-time Champion. He is a world-class boxer who wants to cement his recognition so he is very motivated.
“A lot of it is said in joke form, he’s that type of a character. The only conversations I’ve had was where I said: ‘Look, people are taking it seriously and want to nail you to the floor’. I said to be more thoughtful with what he’s saying, and he has.
“Tyson is a character, he doesn’t mean to hurt anyone so I just told him to curb his words. His intention is not to hurt people, but the press has a way of spinning things to sell papers and create headlines.”
He added: “I’m not going to ask my nephew to change his character for the media, I just told him to not let them put a bad twist on his words. Watch the full videos of him speaking, you will see the type of character he is and where he is coming from. He has said on many occasions that he does not intend to hurt anyone.
“[Muhammad] Ali said a lot of controversial things back in the day. You also couldn’t get any worse than not going in the Army back then and not fighting for your country, they gave him a three-year ban for that and he lost his titles. It is all part and parcel of what you can expect from boxing.
“Don’t forget, you have to be a unique character to be a world Champion, a good one, so it takes all kinds of people. No one is perfect. Tyson is very good for the sport as he’s brought a dead division back to life.
“No one would speak or say anything before Tyson came along, look at what’s he’s done for heavyweight boxing. It has been opened up and there’s world titles out there now—he’s brought life to the division.”
The first encounter was a tactical affair, but both boxers have vowed to bring more fire to the table this time. Peter told me that Klitschko will be fired up and that there is still a lot of life, not to mention pride, left in the 40-year-old Ukrainian.
“I know Wladimir is 100% looking for revenge and thinks he can win,” predicted Fury. “It has all the hallmarks of an exciting fight. I expect to see more in this fight—certainly there will be more aggression from both fighters—and it will end with someone getting counted out.
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