Tyson Fury has revealed that he always planned to meet one of his opponents later on in his career.
Fury turned pro in 2008 but really came to the world’s attention in 2015 when he travelled to Germany to beat the then long-ruling and unified world champion Wladimir Klitschko.
After that, he took time out of the ring to battle mental health issues but came back in 2018 with a pair of wins that took him into a fight with the WBC world champion Deontay Wilder. It was a controversial draw that saw Fury famously rise from the canvas in the 12th round despite being hit with a huge shot.
The pair had two more fights that both ended with Fury winning by stoppage.
‘The Gypsy King’ has admitted to ‘Undisputed’ that he had long since planned to fight Wilder after the pair first met before he even turned pro.
“From maybe 2007, me and Wilder had a pact together. We met in Sheffield at one of the boxing fights on Channel 5, and we always said that we’d talk up a good fight and have a good fight for the championship down the line.”
Fury admitted he was more than wary of the power that Wilder packed before stepping into the ring with him.
“I’d see him hit people and legs would be shaking out cold on the floor. Terrifying knockouts. The highlight-reel knockouts that he had are up there with anybody’s. If not the best highlight reel knockouts. You’ve seen him put some people to sleep.”
Right now Fury is in camp and preparing for his rematch with unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk. The first meeting in May for the undisputed crown left him with a first-ever loss on his ledger.
