In his last fight against Otto Wallin, Tyson Fury suffered a bad cut over his right eye that required 47 stitches. The gash was so bad, many believed it would not heal quick enough in order for the previously announced rematch against Deontay Wilder to go on as planned Feb. 22.
The 31 year-old Fury (29-0-1, 20 KOs) said Monday that he hasn’t yet tested the eye during sparring, and doesn’t plan on it either in fear of reopening the cut and thus causing a postponement to the fight.
“I haven’t been hit yet [in the eye],” said Fury. “I’m not going to get hit in the face until the fight. I don’t want to jeopardize the fight — just in case the cut reopens. I’m being very careful about it. I can’t risk getting this cut reopened in training camp. If it’s going to reopen, let it be on the night of the fight, not in training.”
When asked if that meant the British-born boxer was not sparring as much as he should, Fury offered the following.
“Well, I didn’t say that, you did,” he said. “But the thing is, I’m not getting that cut hit. No way. No way.”
Fury facetiously continued further in regard to the 34-year-old Wilder (42-0-1, 41 KOs) potentially harming his eye.
“I hope the cut opens up in round one — all 47 stitches above and below the eye,” he said. “It doesn’t really matter to me. A cut is a cut. A fighting man tastes blood. I want to taste it, rub it, punch it and mix it up.”
Fury also made it a point to put a stop to murmurs that he had suffered a separate injury.
“I heard on the way in that I have a shoulder injury. That’s a rumor. Bulls---,” he said.
Fury, seemingly in a good mood, continued by poking more verbal jabs toward Wilder.
“I’m a flamboyant person. I have a flamboyant lifestyle. I have flamboyant suits. I’m good looking. I’m a good talker. I have good dress sense,” he said. “I’m not sure [why I get under his skin so much]. Maybe it’s because I’m tall, dark and handsome.”
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist and member of the Boxing Writers Assn. of America since 2011. He has written for the likes of the LA Times, Guardian, USA Today, Philadelphia Inquirer, Men’s Health and NFL.com and currently does TV commentary for combat sports programming that airs on Fox Sports and hosts his own radio show in Los Angeles. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan or via email at manouk.akopyan@gmail.com.