Sport

Fury in typically confident mood for Whyte showdown

Unbeaten heavyweight champion in good shape for big Wembley appearance in front of home fans

Tyson Fury and Dillian Whyte pose during the weigh-in for theWBC title fight at Wembley in London. Photograph: Neil Hall/EPA

Sean Ingle
Fri Apr 22 2022 - 21:04

Tyson Fury has promised fans "a real war" when he defends his WBC heavyweight title against Dillian Whyte at Wembley on Saturday night after weighing in 11lb lighter than his last fight.

Despite looking a little fleshy around the waist, Fury said he was in great shape for his first contest in Britain in more than three years after stepping on to the scales at 18st 12lb – significantly less than the third bout of his trilogy with Deontay Wilder last October.

“Shout and respect to Dillian and his team, proper professional men, and we are going to give you a real f**king fight,” said Fury, who claimed he was feeling the benefits of a 14-week training camp. “Don’t doubt us. We are going to put a show on. It’s going to be a war.

“People are going to be enjoying this fight because we are putting it all on the line. We’ve both trained very well. As you can see I’m in a fantastic mood, my spirits are high. We’re ready to have a fight.”

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Fury, who has an unbeaten record of 31 wins and a draw with 22 knockouts, wished his opponent luck at the stare down after the weigh-in, which was notable for its lack of needle. Not only did both fighters shake hands, they even traded hats before posing for photographs.

“He looks focused, he looks ready,” said Fury. “But at the end of the day, he can’t beat the Gypsy King. Nobody can. I’ve proved it time and time again.”

Whyte will enter the ring as a 4-1 underdog, but after weighing in at 18st 1lb he insisted he was ready to take full advantage of an overdue shot at the heavyweight title.

“It’s taken a lot of time, a lot of money, a lot of patience,” said Whyte, who has two defeats in 30 fights. “But I’m ready to go to war.”

Whyte has suggested that Fury could be on the slide because “giants age faster”.

However Fury’s father, John, who has helped supervise his son’s training camp, insisted that was nonsense.

“Not this giant. People can surmise all they want but facts and fictions are different things. If I didn’t think my son was up to it 100 per cent he wouldn’t be here. He’d have retired long ago. There’s loads of fight left in Tyson Fury.

“He’s strong, hydrated and ready to go. That kid is as fit as a butcher’s dog and as strong as a lion.”

– Guardian

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