Although Tyson Fury is the heavyweight division’s lineal champion and one of its best fighters in the past few years, this British behemoth would be a gifted entertainer in just about any arena.
Whether he is performing inside the ring or retelling the story of his battles with substance abuse and depression outside it, Fury (27-0-1, 19 KOs) holds an audience spellbound like few boxers in recent history. He even loves to sing, particularly after his bouts — albeit with more enthusiasm than skill.
A man of his talents is a natural for the sport’s biggest stages — and Fury was finally in the world’s fight capital yesterday night.
Photo: AFP
“Fighting in Las Vegas is an honor for a boxer, and I feel I’m ready to wear the part,” Fury said. “It suits me down to the ground.”
After starring in London, Dublin, Dusseldorf, New York and Los Angeles, the Manchester native finally gets his Vegas debut against Germany’s unbeaten Tom Schwarz at the MGM Grand Garden.
The 2.06m-tall Fury has already captured the attention of US fight fans with his performances stateside, none bigger than his theatrical rise from the canvas in the 12th round to earn a thoroughly entertaining draw with Deontay Wilder at Staples Center in his last bout six months ago.
Not many observers expect Fury to need similar recuperative powers against Schwarz (24-0, 16 KOs), who has never fought anyone close to Fury’s stature, but Fury still intends to put on a show.
“It’s very different, but it’s what I was born to do,” Fury said of his fights on the other side of the Atlantic. “I was born for US fighting. The British are very reserved. For a confident, brash talker like myself, you have to come to America to be appreciated.”
In the wake of Anthony Joshua’s stunning loss to Andy Ruiz Jr two weeks ago, Fury said he is appropriately wary of the 1.96m-tall Schwarz, who hits hard enough to change any fight with the right shot, but Fury accepted this bout to stay sharp while he waits for a chance at the world’s other two elite heavyweights — actually, make that three after Ruiz’s shocker.
Fury and Wilder could not agree to an immediate rematch after Fury signed with copromoter Top Rank and muddied the political situation with Wilder, who moved on to stop Dominic Breazeale in the first round last month.
Fury settled on Schwarz for his next showcase in promoter Bob Arum’s quest to turn him into a household name in the US.
While Fury has a history of offensive public statements, he has behaved much better with his substance abuse problems apparently behind him. He also takes pride in lessening the stigma around public discussion of mental health issues, including depression.
“People don’t talk to me about boxing anymore,” Fury said. “It’s not what I talk about with people. They talk to me constantly about mental health, because people are suffering. They feel it’s OK to approach me and speak to me about it. I get millions of messages from all over the world, people constantly talking about my problem. I’ve become an ambassador for mental health in sports.”
Fury does not have the raw knockout power of Wilder or Joshua, and he will not promise a knockout of Schwarz. He plans to use his skill to earn a victory that will keep him on track for bigger, flashier stateside fights.
And if he breaks into song after the bout for his debut as a Vegas crooner, nobody will be surprised.
“I can only try and be myself,” Fury said. “If people like me, they’ll watch. If they don’t, then they’ll kick me out of the country.”
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but