BoxNation have secured the exclusive UK live TV rights for Unified World Heavyweight Champion Tyson Fury’s highly-anticipated rematch against the legendary Wladimir Klitschko on Saturday 9th July at a venue in the North-West of England to be announced by promoters Hennessy Sports and K2 Promotions.

The exciting news follows hot-on-the-heels of the recent announcement that The Channel Of Champion also acquired the exclusive live rights to the sensational showdown between British boxing hero and former World Champion Amir Khan against the Mexican pound-for-pound great Canelo Alvarez on Saturday 7th May.

The bitter grudge match sees Fury, the linear, WBA Super, WBO, IBO and Ring Magazine World Heavyweight Champion make the first defence of the titles against the man he took them from in an explosive blockbuster showdown.

Undefeated Fury shocked the sporting world last November when he sensationally dethroned long-reigning heavyweight icon Klitschko in one of boxing’s biggest ever upsets in recent years at the Esprit Arena in Dusseldorf, Germany.

The self-proclaimed Gypsy King broke down in tears in the ring after he ended Klitschko’s long reign as Heavyweight Champion with a deserved unanimous decision as he outboxed the Ukrainian.

Fury (25-0, 18 KOs), who is regarded as the leading Heavyweight in the World, has stated his desire to dispose of Klitschko again before targeting a potential showdown with WBC king Deontay Wider (36-0, 35 KOs), but in one of boxing’s most eagerly-anticipated rematches, Fury will first be looking to prove his doubters wrong once more.

Klitschko is gunning for revenge after suffering his first defeat in over 11 years at the hands of the Mancunian. The 40-year-old was quick to take up the contractual option for a rematch against Fury; ending speculation that he would decide to retire after his 11 year, 22-fight unbeaten streak was spectacularly ended. ‘Dr Steelhammer’ (64-4 54 KOs) is determined to recapture his belts from Fury and take his place back at the top of the world heavyweight scene.

Fury said, “I’m thrilled to get this fight on July 9th and more importantly the fight is going live on BoxNation. I’ve had great relations with the team at Boxnation and I’m over the moon to be working with Boxnation once again in this super fight. I’m the best heavyweight in the world and the rest are imposters to my titles. I am coming for all of them once I’ve dealt with Klitschko a second time.”

Klitschko said, “I’m honoured that my rematch with Tyson Fury will be shown LIVE by the UK’s premier boxing network, BoxNation on Saturday 9th July. BoxNation has shown a great commitment and has a tremendous reputation for showing the best fights from around the world and this rematch is a perfect fit. Boxing fans worldwide will watch this international mega event and I’m looking forward to coming out victorious against Tyson Fury and regaining my heavyweight titles.”

BoxNation Chairman Frank Warren said, “BoxNation is the REAL home of the real Champions and I’m delighted that we’ve secured the real Heavyweight Championship of the World with Fury v Klitschko II which is by far the biggest fight in Europe so far this year. The addition of the fight to the channel is another fantastic acquisition following on from the recent capture of the blockbuster showdown between Khan v Canelo. This yet again shows our commitment to bringing the biggest and best fights to our BoxNation subscribers. The night promises to be one of the biggest events in the UK for years and I’m thrilled our channel will be there as Fury looks to cement his place as king of the heavyweight division.”

About BoxNation

BoxNation, the Channel of Champions and proud partner of Rainham Steel, is the UK’s first dedicated subscription boxing channel. For £12* a month and no minimum term customers can enjoy great value live and exclusive fights, classic fight footage, magazine shows and interviews with current and former fighters.

Previous highlights have included Haye vs Chisora, Khan vs Collazo and Mayweather vs Maidana.

The channel is available on Sky (Ch.437), Freeview (Ch.255), Virgin (Ch.546), TalkTalk (Ch.415), online at watch.boxnation.com and via apps (ios, Android, Amazon). BoxNation is also available in high definition on Sky (Ch. 490), at no extra cost to Sky TV subscribers, providing they are already HD enabled.

BoxNation is also available to commercial premises (inc. pubs, clubs and casino’s) in the UK and Ireland, for more information on a commercial subscription please call 0844 842 7700.

For more information visit www.boxnation.com

*Plus £8 registration fee for Sky TV customers.

Wembley’s middleweight star Gary Corcoran is looking to emulate the success of fellow Irish travellers Billy Joe Saunders and Tyson Fury by winning a world title of his own.

The undefeated Corcoran hopes to see more boxers with gypsy and traveller backgrounds breaking through the amateur scene into the professional ranks.

Gypsy boxers have long been a feature in the amateur boxing scene but Corcoran hopes the success of world champions Fury and Saunders will inspire more to pursue the sport more seriously.

Corcoran, who challenges Bristol’s Danny Butler for the Vacant WBO Intercontinental Super-Welterweight title on Saturday 6th February at the National Stadium, Dublin, said: “We’re all trying to do as much as we can to improve the image of the traveller community. It’s not like that at all, sure you get some bad eggs but most of us are ultra-competitive and constantly striving to be the very best,”

The 25 year-old was raised as one of 12 brothers and sisters on an Irish traveller’s site in Wembley and says his rich traveller heritage is a key part of his armoury. With all eight of his brothers being boxing fanatics he was never short of sparring partners.

He said: “Growing up around traveller communities makes you tough. When I was younger I was a bit wild and loved getting involved in scraps with my brothers and other kids on the site. I decided to take that love for fighting into the ring where and I’m constantly getting better and better.”

Known as the ‘Hell Raiser’ for his ferocious fighting style, Corcoran has ripped through his first 14 opponents; claiming 6 knockouts along the way. The natural-born scrapper rarely takes a step back and has earned a reputation for his non-stop punching style. However, the Wembley man revealed that he’ll be approaching Danny Butler with some fresh ideas come fight night.

He said: “My fans can still expect non-stop action from me but I’ll be trying out some new things against Butler. You’re going to see a new Gary in Dublin, me and my trainer Peter Stanley have come up with a game plan but you’ll have to wait and see! I’ve got a lot of respect for Danny but there’s only going to be one winner and that’s me.”

The super-welterweight division is currently jam-packed with talent such as WBO king Liam Smith, British and Commonwealth Champion Liam Williams and new IBF International Champion Ahmet Patterson. Corcoran is excited at the prospect of beating them on the way to his ultimate goal; a world title.

He said: “They all interest me, I’ll be looking to take them on on my way to the very top. There’s some massive fights to be made this year and I want to be involved in as many as I can. I’m not looking past Danny Butler for now but once I’ve dealt with him I can start looking forward.”

The Wembley man says he’s taken a lot of confidence from inflicting defeats on the previously unbeaten Rick Skelton and Rick Godding and is aiming to kick-off 2016 by claiming another scalp.

He added, “I’m looking to make a big statement. I have a lot of family and friends over there that will be coming to watch me so I’m going to give them a big performance so they can go home happy. Irish fight fans are the best in the world, they absolutely love any combat sport and will be making an absolute racket that’s for sure.”

Chief support on the card sees exciting Dublin ace Jamie Kavanagh step up to challenge for the first title of his career when he faces Portugal’s Antonio Joao Bento for the Vacant WBO European Lightweight Championship.

An action packed up line up features some of the best Irish talent, including: Declan Geraghty, Stephen Ormand, Patrick Hyland, Phillip Sutcliffe Jnr, Anthony Fitzgerland, Gary Sweeney, Craig O’Brien and Sean Creagh, plus unbeaten London star Romeo Romaeo.

Ticket prices are from €25, €40, €60, €80, €100 and €150 and are on sale at www.tickets.ie

The Channel Of Champions, BoxNation, will televise live and exclusive on Sky 437/HD 490, Virgin 546, TalkTalk 415 and Freeview 255. Subscribe at www.boxnation.com or watch online at watch.boxnation.com and via iPhone, iPad or Android and Amazon devices.

REAL SPORTS WITH BRYANT GUMBEL, TV’s most honored sports journalism series, returns with an all-new season of enterprising features and reporting when its season premiere and 226th edition debuts TUESDAY, JAN. 26 (10:00-11:00 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO.
For up-to-the-minute updates about REAL SPORTS, follow on Twitter at @RealSportsHBO or join the conversation using #RealSports.
Segments include:
*The Gypsy King. Wladimir Klitschko dominated the heavyweight division for more than a decade. But on Nov. 28, 2015, before a pro-Klitschko crowd in Dusseldorf, Germany, the United Kingdom’s Tyson Fury pulled off the biggest upset of the year, routing the unified champ by unanimous decision to become the new heavyweight champion of the world.
Within his team, which is composed entirely of blood relatives, the triumph was considered destiny, as he is the direct descendant of two bare-knuckle boxing “kings” from a nomadic clan of Irish gypsies known as Travellers. Today, the 27-year-old, six-foot-nine, undefeated champion is more confident than ever of his boxing prowess and has become known for his brash antics and controversial views. REAL SPORTS correspondent David Scott joins Fury in his Manchester hometown, exploring the fascinating world of a modern-day gypsy king.
Producers: Jordan Kronick, David Scott.
Follow REAL SPORTS updates on HBO.com/realsports and facebook.com/realsports. Immediately following the debut of this month’s show on Jan. 26, log on to HBO.com/realsports for a special overtime session hosted by Bryant Gumbel.
The executive producer of REAL SPORTS WITH BRYANT GUMBEL is Rick Bernstein; Joe Perskie is senior producer.
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By Norm Frauenheim

It’s hard to know whether the search for the next great heavyweight will ever end. Generation after generation, from baby boomer to millennial, it goes on. And on.

I’m not sure it will ever produce much more than nostalgia, but it looks as if we’re about to embark on a part of the expedition that will reveal whether there is only history and nothing else after Wladimir Klitschko.

It’s premature to declare an end to the Klitschko era. It also unfair to Klitschko, whose steady reign at the top of the fabled division for nearly a decade suggests he might make all those declarations look foolish in a rematch of his November loss to Tyson Fury.

Nevertheless, the biggest upset of last year and just about any other year left inescapable evidence that Klitschko’s suffocating grip on the heavyweights is finally gone, even if he regains his titles against the thoroughly unpredictable Fury. Klitschko looked like an old monument. Moved like one, too. According to CompuBox, he landed about five punches a round. That’s more than a stat. It’s a symptom, a sign of age. He’ll be 40 on March 25.

Potential rivals in a younger generation have noticed. Klitschko looks like wounded prey and they’ve begun to circle.

“It’s our time now,’’ said 29-year-old Charles Martin, who faces Vyacheslav Glazkov on Jan. 16 at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center for an IBF title stripped from Fury in the immediate aftermath of his upset of Klitschko.

Martin went on to say that he wants everything that Klitschko had in terms of belts and presumably money. His reported purse for Fury was $18 million.

“Yeah, I want it all,’’ Martin added during a Wednesday conference call that also included Deontay Wilder, who is the biggest star on Showtime-televised card.

Wilder, who defends his WBC belt against Poland’s Artur Szpilka, has emerged as perhaps the most marketable rival to Klitschko. He’s media friendly. He’s American. He has a big punch, although there are still questions about whether he can withstand similar power. There’s another wrinkle, too. He worked as a Klitschko sparring partner a few years ago.

“I was disappointed that Klitschko didn’t show up,’’ said Wilder, who also might have been disappointed that Fury had the good timing or dumb luck to be in the ring when Klitschko was as vulnerable as he’s been in many years. “Something was missing. That wasn’t what we’re used to seeing.’’

The unbeaten Wilder said he’ll wait for the Fury rematch to see if the old Klitschko is still there, still able to rule boxing most historic division. It was also clear, however, Wilder sees himself as the heir apparent, regardless of Fury’s victory.

“I’m looking forward to being the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world,’’ said Wilder, who doesn’t have to go far to hear the same thing from a division suddenly crowded with promises and perhaps potential enough to make it relevant again.

LONDON (18 Dec) – Heavyweight world champion Tyson Fury is expecting a gruelling war when Andy Lee and Billy Joe Saunders share the ring this Saturday night.

The newly crowned unified champion, who dethroned long time king Wladimir Klitschko last month, believes both men will leave no stone unturned after their background has made them ‘bred to fight’.

Like Fury, the pair are from a travelling background, with the Manchester ace tipping the middleweight world title fight, exclusively live on BoxNation, to be one to remember.

“When two travellers get into the ring what you’re going to have is a real hard and tough fight. No one is going to be conned or fooled because both Andy Lee and Billy Joe have been bred to fight,” said Fury.

“They’ve been raised as real men and I expect them to go out there and produce a great fight. Billy Joe is the better technical boxer out of the two but Andy has the punching power, so it’s a well balanced fight,” he said.

The 27-year-old undefeated fighter is leaning towards a Saunders win, but is well aware of the threat WBO champion Lee possesses.

He has warned the Hatfield man he cannot lose focus like he did when letting Chris Eubank Jr back into their fight last year, a matchup Saunders was cruising in before his arch-rival pulled it back on the scorecards to eventually lose a narrow split decision.

“If Billy can box the right fight and make sure he concentrates throughout the whole 12 rounds then he can win the fight,” said Fury.

“He can’t allow himself to switch off and let Andy back into the fight like he’s done a few times, like he did in the Eubank Jr fight.

“Andy is a superior and more experienced fighter than Eubank Jr so he will definitely capitalise if he does switch off,” he said.

Fury also believes that alongside himself both men are setting the trend as positive role models for the travelling community.

“It’s great to see travellers becoming world champions because we’re the best fighters in the world. Hopefully I’ve set the mark for other traveller fighters by becoming world champion and I know Andy and Billy Joe are going to look to do a similar thing,” said Fury.

“Neither guy is going to take a back step and will leave it all in the ring so it’s a fight I’m really looking forward to seeing on Saturday.”

He was also pleased to hear that Saunders won a big bet after backing him to win the heavyweight world title last month in Dusseldorf.

“I’m pleased Billy Joe won £20,000 betting on me to win – it shows he’s an intelligent man who knows boxing! No one thought that I could become champion of the world except a handful of people.

“It feels good to prove so many wrong and nice that Billy Joe put his money where his mouth was and got rewarded for it,” said Fury.

Remaining tickets for Andy Lee vs Billy Joe Saunders at the Manchester Arena this Saturday are available from frankwarren.com. Or watch exclusively live on BoxNation (Sky 437/490HD, Virgin 525, Freeview 255, TalkTalk 415, online or app). Visit boxnation.com to subscribe.

-Ends-
About BoxNation
BoxNation, the Channel of Champions and proud partner of Rainham Steel, is the UK’s first dedicated subscription boxing channel. For £12* a month and no minimum term customers can enjoy great value live and exclusive fights, classic fight footage, magazine shows and interviews with current and former fighters.

Previous highlights have included Haye vs Chisora, Khan vs Collazo and Mayweather vs Maidana.

The channel is available on Sky (Ch.437), Freeview (Ch.255), Virgin (Ch.546), TalkTalk (Ch.415), online at Livesport.tv and via apps (ios, Android, Amazon). BoxNation is also available in high definition on Sky (Ch. 490), at no extra cost to Sky TV subscribers, providing they are already HD enabled.

BoxNation is also available to commercial premises (inc. pubs, clubs and casino’s) in the UK and Ireland, for more information on a commercial subscription please call 0844 842 7700.

For more information visit www.boxnation.com

*Plus £8 registration fee for Sky TV and new Livesport.tv customers.

LONDON (5 DECEMBER) Exactly one week after dethroning Wladimir Klitschko to win the world heavyweight championship in Dusseldorf, Germany, Tyson Fury will be in attendance at the Westcroft Leisure Centre in Carshalton tonight to watch his promotional stable-mates in action and to be interviewed live on Channel 5.

Unbeaten star Fury, the new WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO heavyweight champion of the world, is a man much in demand at present – and has fielded numerous offers and requests this week – but has chosen to make his first television appearance since his epic win in Germany on Channel 5, the channel that first brought him to the masses.

While in Carshalton, Fury will cast an eye over the European super-lightweight title clash between Carshalton’s Lenny Daws and Spain’s Ruben Nieto, and will also be on hand to watch his cousin, Hughie Lewis Fury, aim to make it eighteen wins from eighteen pro fights, live on Spike from 8pm.

Finally, Channel 5 viewers will get to hear from the man himself on the upset win that shook up the heavyweight division and catapulted Team Fury to the very top of world boxing.

*** Destiny: Daws vs. Nieto takes place on Saturday, December 5 at Carshalton’s Westcroft Leisure Centre and will be televised live and exclusively in the UK on Channel 5 from 10.30pm ***

*** The pick of the undercard, including appearances from Hughie Lewis Fury, Andrew Selby and Danny ‘Cassius’ Connor will be televised live and exclusively in the UK on Spike from 8pm ***

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LONDON (3 DECEMBER) Days after capturing the world heavyweight championship in front of 55,000 fans in Dusseldorf, Germany, Tyson Fury has leant his support to promotional stable-mate Lenny Daws ahead of the Carshalton man’s European title fight with Ruben Nieto this Saturday night (December 5), live on Channel 5.

Daws, like Fury, has been with promoter Mick Hennessy since day one of his professional career – all the way back in April 2003 – and now, having won two British titles, is on the cusp of grabbing the elusive European crown. And Fury couldn’t be happier to see the 36-year-old get his moment in the spotlight.

“Lenny is an all-action, no-nonsense fighter who always makes for good television,” said Fury. “He’s not a prima donna, he’s a good, old-fashioned, hard-working pro. He never takes a step back, he’s always in entertaining scraps, and he’s a proper fighting man.

“Also, it’s good to see Lenny’s loyalty to Mick over the years. While some have jumped ship and been completely disloyal during tough times, Lenny has focused on his boxing, improved his record, and now he’s on the verge of winning the European title and breaking into the top ten. It’s at this level when the fighters really need the support of the nation.

“I’m hoping Lenny will look at the recent run of results we’ve had – Nick Blackwell retaining his British title, Lee Haskins becoming IBF world champion, and me beating Klitschko in Germany – and continue that good form. I know he’s more than capable of becoming European champion on Saturday night.”

?*** Destiny: Daws vs. Nieto takes place on Saturday, December 5 at Carshalton’s Westcroft Leisure Centre and will be televised live and exclusively in the UK on Channel 5 from 10.30pm ***

*** A limited amount of tickets for Destiny: Daws vs. Nieto are priced at £100 and £40 and can be purchased from the Ticketline on 0844 888 4402 ***

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Just disposed Heavyweight champion, Wladimir Klitschko will exercise his contractual rematch clause with Tyson Fury following Saturday’s fight which saw Fury lift the Heavyweight championship from Klitschko in Dusseldorf, Germany, according to Dan Rafael of espn.com.

“I was really frustrated directly after the fight, but after some short nights, I now know that I want to show that I am much better than my performance on Saturday,” Klitschko said. “I couldn’t show my full potential at any time. This is what I want to change in the rematch — and I will. Failure is not an option.”

“There will be a huge worldwide interest in this fight, which already can be billed as the fight of the year 2016,” Bernd Boente, Klitschko’s manager, said. “We received so many questions of fans and journalists after last Saturday. The new champion and his challenger will answer all of them inside the ring.”

Mick Hennessy, Fury’s promoter, told ESPN.com that their side was thrilled that Klitschko elected to go for the rematch.

“We relish [that he exercised] that option,” Hennessy said. “There’s no bigger fight than fighting Wladimir again. [A title unification fight with Deontay] Wilder is nowhere near as big. And [mandatory challenger Vyacheslav] Glazkov? Come on. He’s an unknown. He doesn’t bring anything to the table in any way shape or form. … We were worried Wladimir wouldn’t take the rematch. We are delighted. It’s good that Wladimir made the decision quickly. We can strike while the iron’s hot. We’ll see an even better Tyson in the rematch.”

Klitschko’s decision to take the rematch isn’t a surprise, although he took time to digest the defeat. On Monday, Klitschko wrote on social media: “I still don’t believe I actually lost. Man, I’m suffering.”

“We’ll be looking at venues everywhere and we’ll go where it will gross the most money,” Hennessy said. “There are massive stadiums here in England but everyone wants the fight. I’ve had contacts from abroad, the (United Arab Emirates) as well. We are excited — both sides are to make this a super fight.”

“We are very, very happy with Tyson’s situation in this deal as champion. We’re done,” Hennessy said.

Hennessy said if the Fury-Klitschko rematch happens without the IBF involved, so be it.

“If they’re going to manipulate this situation to have two average fighters not worthy of the heavyweight title fighting (for the IBF belt), they’re going to push Tyson, who is the lineal champion, into a position where he will do a press conference put that belt into the (trash) bin,” he said. “We feel they’ve shown zero respect for the new champion or for the former champion, who held their title for 9½ years.

IBF number-one contender, Vyacheslav Glazkov and his team led by promoters Main Events have called for a purse for a mandatory title shot with new champion Tyson Fury, according to Dan Rafael of espn.com

Fury was ordered by the IBF on Monday to next face Vyacheslav “Czar” Glazkov. The camps were given 30 days to make a deal, or a purse bid would be ordered. However, on Tuesday, Main Events promoter Kathy Duva, who represents Glazkov, informed the IBF they were unwilling to participate in negotiations with Fury promoter Mick Hennessy and requested an immediate purse bid, which is allowable under IBF rules, although the fight is unlikely to happen.

The IBF sent a letter to all its registered promoters announcing a purse bid to take place at noon ET Dec. 11 at IBF headquarters in Springfield, New Jersey. The promoter who puts forth the biggest bid will win promotional rights to the bout. The minimum bid is $200,000, but the bout would almost certainly go for millions more.

Duva said though she asked for an immediate purse bid on Fury-Glazkov, she and Hennessy are talking about the fight.

“We got on the phone [Tuesday], and we had a pleasant conversation, and we’ll have another one [Wednesday],” Duva told ESPN.com.

Duva asked for the purse bid immediately to secure her fighter’s position. Had she not, Fury could have asked the IBF for an exception to fight an optional defense before the mandatory bout.

“But once we asked for the immediate purse bid, it is no longer possible [under IBF rules] for the Fury people to ask for a special exception, so that was a tactical move,” Duva said. “I am protecting my fighter’s position.”

She said she is still negotiating the fight with Wilder. Whatever happens, Glazkov will get a shot, be it against the recognized champion Fury, titleholder Wilder or a vacant title bout against Martin.

“We’re still gathering information on everything, but we’ll come to a decision quickly on what we want to do,” Duva said. “I need to speak to my fighter and his manager [Egis Klimas] before anything is decided.”

Billy Joe Saunders has been backed by the new world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury to become the next world champion from travelling stock and predicts a new era for the sport.

Undefeated ace Saunders, who lives on a travellers’ site in Hatfield, challenges the WBO World Middleweight Champion Andy Lee for his crown on Saturday 19th December at the Manchester Arena, live and exclusive on BoxNation.

The 26-year-old is deep in preparations at the MGM training facility in Marbella for his massive showdown against Lee, but made sure he watched Fury’s sensational upset of long-reigning heavyweight king Wladimir Klitschko.

“Tyson did what he said he was going to do and shook the world,” Said Saunders.

“A lot of people said he couldn’t do it and it was an impossible job, but I backed him from day one to beat Klitschko,”

“He proved that he’s a real champion by going into the lion’s den and beating a true great in Klitschko in his own backyard,”

“No one has done that to Klitschko before and it shouldn’t be underplayed,”

“I couldn’t be happier for him and his achievement. We spoke the next day and he was over the moon about his win as he rightly should be, Britain has a new heavyweight champion of the world,”

“It fantastic that the world heavyweight champion is a travelling lad, the flagship division is now ruled by a traveller, now it’s my turn to bring another world title to our community and for Britain,”

“Tyson said he’s backing me to win the WBO World Middleweight title against Lee and then we’ll both rule.”

“I believe that this is the start of a new era in boxing for gypsy fighters, Tyson’s world champion, I’m going to beat Lee and become the next world champion, and there are plenty more travelling lads coming through who are all potential world champions.”

Frank Warren’s end of year title extravaganza ‘X-Mas Cracker’ is headlined by two massive world title showdowns with WBO World Middleweight Champion Andy Lee defending his title against Billy Joe Saunders and WBO World Super-Welterweight Champion Liam Smith making his first title defence against Jimmy Kelly. A staggering SIX further titles are on the line with Mitchell Smith defending his WBO Intercontinental Super-Featherweight title against George Jupp; Paul Butler challenges for the Vacant WBO European Super-Flyweight Championship against Silvio Olteanu; Tommy Langford defends his WBO Intercontinental Middleweight Championship; Commonwealth Super-Welterweight Champion Liam Williams and Kris Carslaw clash with the Vacant British title also on the line; Jack Catterall defends his WBO Intercontinental Super-Lightweight Championship, and Tom Stalker and Craig Evans clash again for the Vacant WBO European Lightweight Championship. The undercard features Merseyside favourite Joe Selkirk in a six-round contest, Indian superstar Vijender Singh, Anthony Yarde and top Manchester prospects Jack Flattley and Dale Coyne, plus Razza Hamza.

Tickets are priced at £40, £50, £75, £100, £200 and £300 are available from:

By Bart Barry-

Saturday in Germany, England’s Tyson Fury became the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world by decisioning Ukrainian Wladimir Klitschko by official scores of 115-112, 115-112, 116-111. What few American aficionados could be bothered to interrupt their Saturday afternoons with the live telecast expressed nearly universal disgust for Klitschko’s iffy comportment and Fury’s very existence. This reaction did little but solidify the heavyweight championship as a European estate, and if it must be that, frankly, Fury’s victory brings an intriguing improvement to the terrible dullness of Klitschko’s sovereignty.

We’ve been led by a machine for 10 years. Why not try a madman?

Let’s begin with a confession: I’ve not made it to the end of a Wladimir Klitschko fight since he pattycaked his way to a ban from Madison Square Garden 7 1/2 years ago. In that forgettable match, Klitschko, four inches and 20 pounds larger than Sultan Ibragimov, moved like a man weighing with his adversary’s every twitch the primal choice between flight or fight. It was nearer an embarrassment than any defense of a heavyweight title I’d theretofore seen, and I pledged to avoid such queasiness again. Surely I’ve written about Klitschko since, boxing’s schedule being emptied as it was, is, will be, but I’ve not made it to the end of his fights.

A bit more about the choice of queasiness: There’s something perfectly awful about the way Klitschko fights. He is enormous and scared, subverting most of his inevitable advantages in size with a buttersoft chin and a tiny heart. To those who claim any man stepping between the ropes is a paragon of courage, there’s this: When Klitschko stepped between the ropes against Eddie Chambers in 2010, he enjoyed a preposterous, five-inch, 35-pound advantage and still needed 35:55 to finish Chambers. To call that courageous is to stretch the word to snapping.

Odder yet were the pound-for-pound lists that included Klitschko, as if, stripped of his extraordinary natural size advantages, his timid, jab-jab-flee-jab gambits would hold up against a dynamo like Manny Pacquiao or a time-and-space master like Floyd Mayweather – both of whom spent their primes fighting men structurally much larger than themselves. The assumption, of course, was boxing would never unearth a man big as Klitschko who could fight even a little bit, and who was not brother Vitali, allowing the myth of Klitschko as an all-timer, and it nearly happened like that.

Bless Tyson Fury for what he did Saturday. Fury is not a good fighter – that is, shrunken to, say, Miguel Cotto’s dimensions, Fury’s fighting skills wouldn’t have allowed him to turn pro – but he is a very good modern heavyweight. As a matter of fact, he’s now the very best heavyweight fighter in the world, a phrase begging to be followed by an emoticon like 🙂 or 😀

Fury is also a fighter, in the modern-British sense of the word. He wants to mill, the way Ricky Hatton and Carl Froch did, even while being less athletically gifted than his tenacious, smaller countrymen. Saturday’s match, then, featured a very limited fighter against an enormous and handsome robot programmed with a logic loop like: IF condition=perfectly safe THEN feint with jab ELSE retreat and flail. It was a wonderful exclamation point on the Klitschko Era, one that banished heavyweight prizefighting from America’s collective consciousness, enchanting only those whose passion for precision machinery brought tingles of pleasure every time their giant robot dismantled grossly overmatched untermenschen without jarring its shaky CPU.

Setting aside patriotic and ethnic enthusiasms, Klitschko, in the tradition of young and stat-obsessed fantasysports fans, pleased best those who value most being right. To borrow a tasty thing American comic Doug Stanhope once said about New York Yankees fans, cheering for Wladimir Klitschko was like going to a casino and cheering for the dealer (and then browbeating fellow spectators about how good you are at calculating probability). Klitschko was most beloved by those who entirely miss the point of competition, if not fighting itself.

Back to Great Britain. The BBC has a motorsports program, Top Gear, that is perfect as television can be. Its three hosts brazenly test and often undo very expensive automobiles, while hatching fantastic driving analogies such as: “It’s like trying to do a crossword puzzle while being eaten by a tiger!” A few years ago Top Gear featured the McLaren MP4-12C, an extraordinary engineering feat that, in every scientifically measurable way, was superior to any car you’ve likely heard of, including a Ferrari. But as host Jeremy Clarkson noted: “There’s no zing.” For all its perfection, it wasn’t fun to drive, or at least not fun as it should have been; obsessed as it was with perfection, it verily suffocated the human element, the sort of messy vitality that marks life’s richest experiences and sells Lamborghinis.

Tyson Fury is a 6-foot-9 stack of messy vitality. By his own admission he is at least manic and perhaps berserk – an abusing product of abuse no sane person should wish to see angry or drunk. He is amusingly tacky, like many things British, and relentlessly selfpromoting. But he is also selfaware; he is not a polished fighter and doesn’t try to be. Too, he enjoys the same surfeit of confidence as his countryman Froch: Until Fury stood a meter from Klitschko’s raised fists and danced with his gloves behind his back, Saturday, few had seen a delta between talent and confidence to rival the Nottinghamshire Cobra’s. But there it was.

Legend has it, winning a title makes a prizefighter 20-percent better. But Fury didn’t just win a title; he won the title. He is now the undefeated, undisputed, unified heavyweight champion of the world. That ought to make him at least 30-percent better, which should make his reign engrossing if not majestic.

Tyson Fury ended the decade long Heavyweight title reign of Wladimir Klitschko by winning a 12-round unanimous decision at the Esprit Arena in Dusseldorf, Germany.

It was a jab-fest early with not much going on.  Fury was slightly more aggressive.  In round five, Klitschko was cut under the left eye from an accidental headbutt.

In round nine, Klitschko landed a big right but he was out done as he was drilled with punishing left hook.  It was more of the same as Fury’s movement would befuddle Klitschko.  Klitschko was cut in three places including around both eyes and his forehead.  Fury landed a a huge left hook in round eleven, but that round advantage was done in by Fury being docked a point for hitting behind the head.  Klitschko had his best round in the final round as he got in some good left hooks but it was too little, too late as Fury lifted the titles and ended the decade reign of Klitschko.

Fury won by scores of 116-111 and 115-112 twice and is now 25-0.  Klitschko is 64-4.

Follow all the action Live as IBF/WBA/WBO Heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko defends his titles against undefeated Tyson Fury.  The fight begins at 4:45 PM ET / 1:45 PM PT / 9:45 PM in England / 10:45 PM in Germany-AUTOMATIC BROWSER REFRESH

National Anthems Done

Round 1 Fury fighting at a distance..Fury lands a jab..

Round 2 Klitschko lands a jab and a jab to the body..Fury gets in a left..Klitschko lands a left

Round 3 Fury goes southpaw…and holding hands behind his back…

Round 4 Fury being more aggressive..Right from Klitschko and a left

Round 5 Klitschko cut under his left eye…Fury lands a body shot..Right..

Round 6 Fury lands a jab…

Round 7 Fury gets in a right..

Round 8 Good jab from Fury..Good jab from Klitschko..Another good jab..

Round 9 2 hard rights from Klitschko…Little left from Fury..2 body punches..Big left hook..Klitschko cut from the forehead..Little right from Klitschko

Round 10 Jab to body from Klitschko..

Round 11 Fury lands little shots on the inside..Body shot…head shot..Klitschko outside his right eye..Big left hook..POINT DEDUCTED FROM FURY FOR RABBIT PUNCHES

Round 12 Hard left from Fury..Good right from Klitschko…Left hook…leaping left hook..left hook

115-112, 115-112, 116-111 FOR THE NEW CHAMPION TYSON FURY

The world’s premier heavyweight returns to HBO for his second fight of the year in a fascinating Thanksgiving weekend matchup when WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING: WLADIMIR KLITSCHKO VS. TYSON FURY is seen SATURDAY, NOV. 28 at 4:45 p.m. (live ET/tape-delayed PT) from ESPRIT Arena in Dusseldorf, Germany. The HBO Sports team will call all the action, which will be available in HDTV, closed-captioned for the hearing-impaired and presented in Spanish on HBO Latino. The same day replay will air at 10:15 p.m. (ET/PT) and the prime time encore play will be paired with the exclusive replay of the middleweight super fight from Nov. 21 that featured Miguel Cotto and Canelo Alvarez as well as the thrilling super featherweight title fight between Takashi Muira and Francisco Vargas.

Other HBO playdates: Nov. 29 (9:00 a.m.) and 30 (11:15 p.m.)

HBO2 playdate: Nov. 29 (4:30 p.m.)

Boasting a collection of title belts, Wladimir Klitschko (64-3, 54 KOs) from Kiev, Ukraine, and now residing in Miami, takes on Tyson Fury (24-0, 18 KOs) of Wilmslow, Cheshire, UK in a world championship title fight that has the boxing world buzzing. Long dominant in the heavyweight division, three-time champ Klitschko won his first title belt in 2001. He has a sterling championship bout record of 25-2 and is on a 22-fight victory streak since his loss to Lamon Brewster in 2004. At one point, he and his now-retired brother, Vitali, held every major heavyweight championship belt between them.

The upcoming fight is the 39-year-old Klitschko’s 19th consecutive world heavyweight title defense and 21st HBO bout; he first appeared on the network in 2000, when he handled Monte Barrett with a seventh-round TKO.

Standing 6’9,” Tyson Fury is known as much for nonstop chatter as firepower in the ring. The 26-year-old hopes to spring the biggest divisional upset in a decade.

Following the afternoon telecast from the 50,000-seat venue in Dusseldorf, HBO Sports will replay the bout in prime time at 10:15 p.m. (ET/PT) followed by two tremendous fights from the Nov. 21 pay-per-view card at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. HBO subscribers will be treated to the replay of the super featherweight title fight between Takashi Muira and Francisco Vargas and the middleweight collision between Miguel Cotto and Canelo Alvarez. Vargas’ incredible 9th round comeback victory generated adjectives from the boxing media that included: “Stunning.” “Brutal.” “Startling.” “Thriller.” The Cotto-Alvarez bout was one of the year’s most intriguing and high profile matchups and Canelo emerged as the decisive winner.

Follow HBO boxing news at hbo.com/boxing, on Facebook at facebook.com/hboboxing and on Twitter at twitter.com/hboboxing.

All HBO boxing events are presented in HDTV. HBO viewers must have access to the HBO HDTV channel to watch HBO programming in high definition.

The executive producer of WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING is Rick Bernstein; producer, Dave Harmon; director, Johnathan Evans.

® WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING is a registered service mark of Home Box Office, Inc.

###

Wladimir Klitschko Greatest Hits
Watch some of the best moments in the career of Heavyweight Champion Wladimir Klitschko. Klitschko vs. Fury happens Saturday, November 28 live on HBO at 4:45pm ET/PT.
Link: https://youtu.be/k13nqx8gWS4
Embed:

Hey Harold!: Klitschko vs. Fury
HBO Boxing unofficial scorer Harold Lederman discusses Klitschko vs. Fury. Klitschko vs. Fury happens Saturday, November 28 live on HBO at 4:45pm ET/PT.
Link: https://youtu.be/r3yu1vFqOEY
Embed:

Anthony Joshua MBE believes Tyson Fury will attack Wladimir Klitschko from the opening bell in their World Heavyweight title clash – but that the champion will hold on to his titles, live on Sky Sports Box Office.

Klitschko defends his WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO belts against the unbeaten Manchester man on Saturday night in Dusseldorf, with Fury gunning to dethrone the Ukrainian, who laces them up in his 28th World title fight.

Joshua has his own big night on Sky Sports Box Office on December 12 when he headlines a blockbuster night at The O2 against bitter rival Dillian Whyte for the British and Commonwealth titles – but the Olympic gold medal hero will be glued to the action from Germany this weekend, and expects a great fight between the pair.

“It will be a great fight and it’s brilliant for boxing both in Britain and on a World stage,” said Joshua. “Tyson and Wladimir are two very different personalities which makes it even more interesting for the neutral. The result is difficult to call, both have knock outs on their record and anything can happen in heavy weigh boxing.

“The fight will be action packed right from round one. I think Fury will come out with nothing to lose, his style is to throw a lot of punches but ultimately I think Klitschko’s class will shine through and he will win.”

HBO Sports serves up the exclusive replay of the world middleweight super fight MIGUEL COTTO VS. CANELO ALVAREZ, SATURDAY, NOV. 28 on HBO. The HBO Sports team, which was ringside for the live coverage at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, called all the action. Available in HDTV, the hard-hitting ring action will be presented along with the encore replay of the “HBO World Championship Boxing®” event featuring Wladimir Klitschko vs. Tyson Fury from Dusseldorf, Germany, beginning at 10:15 p.m. (ET/PT).

Other HBO playdates for both bouts: Nov. 29 (9:00 a.m.) and 30 (11:15 p.m.)
HBO2 playdates for both bouts: Nov. 29 (5:00 p.m.) and Dec. 1(11:00 p.m.)
The highly anticipated super fight took place Saturday, Nov. 21, live on HBO Pay-Per-View®, with 160-pound attractions Cotto and Canelo colliding in the ring.

LONDON (19 NOVEMBER) Number one heavyweight contender Tyson Fury has urged fans from Britain and Ireland to snap up remaining tickets to his highly-anticipated world heavyweight title clash with Wladimir Klitschko at the ESPRIT arena in Dusseldorf, Germany next Saturday (November 28), and to cheer him on to an explosive and historic knockout victory.

The 27-year-old Fury, unbeaten in 24 professional fights, already feels he has spooked Klitschko, and well and truly got under his skin, and now believes his legion of supporters can play their part when the two heavyweight giants collide next weekend.

“The German crowd don’t make much noise,” he said. “They like to politely clap at the end of a round, but that’s about it. The British and Irish supporters, though, are the noisiest and best in the world.

“When my supporters start making noise, Wlad won’t know what has hit him. He’ll never have experienced an atmosphere like it. He likes silence when he fights because it gives him time and room to think. He doesn’t like things to get chaotic or crazy.

“But, unfortunately for him, on November 28 he’ll be in for an almighty shock. Not only will my supporters out-sing his, I’ll also be making plenty of noise with my left and right fists and will be hitting Wlad more than he’s ever been hit before.”

Fury has had to wait patiently for his shot, having watched Klitschko withdraw from their initial October 24 date, but is all the better for the delay, he says, and currently in the best shape of his life. Now, with the bulk of training wrapped up, Tyson can’t wait to head to Dusseldorf and realise his dream of becoming world heavyweight champion, all the while conquering a legend.

“That means a lot to me,” said the former European, British, Commonwealth and Irish heavyweight champion. “It won’t make a bit of difference on the night – no amount of talking or statistics will – but it will be nice to think I will have made history when I flatten Klitschko. It’s an added bonus.

“This fight is about many things for me. It’s about fulfilling my goal of becoming world heavyweight champion, it’s about staying undefeated and winning just another fight, and it’s also about beating Wladimir Klitschko. He’s the best heavyweight in the world right now and has been for a long time. That’s exactly why I went after him and wanted to fight him. I didn’t want to just pick up a belt against some other champion. That was never my plan. I wanted to beat the best.”

Fury continued: “I know Klitschko wouldn’t be going anywhere near me if this fight hadn’t been mandated and forced upon him. I’m not somebody he wants to fight. I’m not hand-picked. He can’t control me. He knows my dangers.

“But he’s got me now. His nightmare has become a reality. And, on November 28, I’m doing what he was unable to do first time round – I’m turning up. I’ll then do what Wlad’s been unable to do his entire career – put on a show, entertain the fans and send them home happy. Mark my words: I will become heavyweight champion of the world on November 28.”

*** For tickets to the world heavyweight title clash between Wladimir Klitschko and Tyson Fury please visit www.eventim.co.uk or call 0844 249 1000 ***

*** Klitschko vs. Fury will be shown live and exclusively in the UK on Sky Sports Box Office. For further details, please visit http://www.skysports.com/klitschko-vs-fury/news/33470/10056597/klitschko-vs-fury-you-can-now-book-the-sky-sports-box-office-event-via-online-or-phone ***

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Vikingslots.com offers players the chance to attend Klitschko vs. Fury and meet the future world heavyweight champion

Tyson Fury challenges Wladimir Klitschko for the world heavyweight titles on November 28 in Dusseldorf, Germany

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LONDON (6 NOVEMBER) Ever wanted to attend a world heavyweight title fight at a football stadium? Well, here’s your chance.

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The WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO world heavyweight title fight between champion Wladimir Klitschko and number one contender Tyson Fury has captured the imagination of the public and is considered one of the standout sporting events of 2015.

Klitschko, the German-based Ukrainian, is unbeaten in over eleven years and has made 18 consecutive defences of the world heavyweight title. Fury, meanwhile, based in Manchester, England, is undefeated in 24 professional fights and has captured English, Irish, British, Commonwealth and European heavyweight titles.

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LONDON (2 OCTOBER) C/O K2 Promotions: IBF/IBO and “The Ring Magazine” World Heavyweight Champion and WBA/WBO Superchampion Wladimir Klitschko will defend his titles against Tyson Fury on November 28 at ESPRIT arena in Düsseldorf.

Tickets keep their validity.

Originally scheduled for October 24, the fight had been postponed due to an injury suffered by Wladimir Klitschko. However, after a comprehensive medical examination, the champion has been given the green light today for the fight to proceed at the end of November.

“My injury will heal quickly enough for me to enter the ring on November 28,” said Klitschko. “I will promptly continue my training camp preparations and, of course, I am very happy to still be fighting this year, especially for my fans who have already bought their tickets.”

Information for journalists: Due to the new fight date, the accreditation process must be restarted. If you have already sent your accreditation form please note that it is no longer valid.

The new accreditation process will open as soon as possible. Please understand that we cannot accept any early requests.

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Hamburg, September 25, 2015: (C/O K2 Promotions) Due to a tendon tear in the left calf of the IBF/IBO and “The Ring Magazine” World Heavyweight Champion and WBA/WBO Superchampion Wladimir Klitschko, his championship fight against Tyson Fury will be postponed.

After sustaining the injury in his training session yesterday, Wladimir Klitschko promptly left his training camp to seek medical treatment from Dr. Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt, physician for the German national soccer team, who has diagnosed the injury.

“Especially after the exciting press conference last Wednesday, I was looking forward to this fight very much. I know that a lot of fans have already organized their trips to support me in Düsseldorf. I am so sorry that I am not able to fight on October 24. I also apologize to my opponent, who has spent many weeks preparing for this fight. I will do my very best to recover as fast as possible,” said Wladimir Klitschko.

Klitschko will continue to seek medical treatment from Dr. Müller-Wohlfahrt and the new date for the fight against Tyson Fury will be announced next week. The ESPRIT arena in Düsseldorf will still be the venue.

“The clinical and MRI-examination showed a partial musculotendinous tear of the left calf. The boxing fight planned for October 24 (World Championship in the heavyweight division) should be postponed for an indefinite period of time. Due to this injury we strictly recommend ceasing athletic activity in the next weeks,” said Dr. Müller-Wohlfahrt.

“Unfortunately, these situations are always possible in individual sports. We all know about the importance of this event for everyone involved, as well as for all boxing fans. Therefore, we are trying everything possible to postpone this fight to a nearby date at the ESPRIT arena in Düsseldorf,” said Bernd Bönte, CEO of Klitschko Management Group.

END

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BOLTON (21 SEPTEMBER) By Peter Fury: You can’t play down the importance of family.

Your family’s your family. There’s no changing it. It’s a bond like no other. If any one of your family had their little finger chopped off, it would impact you in some way. You’d feel it.

So, to have everybody comfortable and happy is a great thing for a fighter, especially one in Tyson’s position. He’s a wealthy man right now. He’s surrounded by family. Family is your blood – you care what happens to each and every one of them.

We’re a very close family, us lot. We care about each other. Yeah, we shout and we argue and we have our differences, but really, when the chips are down, you die for your family.

His dad being out of prison is a massive lift for us all, not just Tyson. It feels like a grey cloud over us has gone. We don’t have to think about what John might be missing or how he might be feeling. He’s home, he’s done his time and onwards we go.

We need peace of mind going into a fight like this. We need to be able to concentrate on the job in hand, rather than worrying about other things. We’ve got that.

As for training Tyson – a member of my family – it’s like second nature now. Tyson is very good. He never gives you lip. He just gets on with it and does what he’s told. We’re family – I want what’s best for him. It’s all about winning. We’ve got that relationship; we know what we’re doing and that’s it.

Being family makes it very easy. We live under the same roof and we’re used to being in each other’s company. We do everything together – eat, sleep, drink, laugh. There’s nobody making calls to the family because the family’s all here. We don’t miss each other during camp because we spend every day together.

Of course, you’ve still got to be professional. You’ve got to step back, see the flaws and work on things and get them right. When they’re not right, they’re not right. There’s no point holding something back because you’re scared of upsetting a loved one. If we don’t improve, as a team, we’re letting each other down. The good thing is, I’ve only got to speak once and they only have to hear the tone of my voice to know I don’t like something.

Also, because there’s only family in the gym, Tyson’s never put up there as any kind of role model or icon. He’s always just one of the lads. He’s no different. The outside world will see it differently, but we don’t. We’ve just got a job to do. Tyson is like the big brother in camp.

Every one of them in the gym is programmed to fight, though. Don’t forget, they’ve been doing it since they were six years of age. They don’t know anything else. They’ve never come across fear before. They’ve lived in a boxing gym all their lives. That’s the big advantage we have over a lot of others…

*** Tyson Fury challenges Wladimir Klitschko for the WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO world heavyweight titles on October 24 in Dusseldorf, Germany. Tickets can be purchased from eventim.co.uk or on 0844 249 1000. The fight will be televised live and exclusively in the UK on Sky Sports Box Office ***

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BOLTON (14 SEPTEMBER) BY RICO VERHOEVEN: I’ve been to England four or five times now and really love it. Coming from Holland, though, I always have to get used to the differences with the roads. You guys drive on the other side of the road and two days ago I almost got run over! I was looking at the wrong side, the wrong way, walked out and nearly got taken out. It was pretty scary. I nearly had a damn heart attack!

Despite these dangers, I always enjoy going to England and hooking up with the Furys. They feel like family to me. It’s very natural. It doesn’t matter how long I’ve been away, every time I come here it feels like home.

We met about three years ago. They had a training camp in Belgium right on the border of Holland. It was really close. They were getting a lot of Dutch guys in for sparring but the sparring was turning out to be a real problem. Most of the guys they were sparring would quit or be sent away after one session. They all thought, no way, this is not for us. You’ve got one of the best boxers in Europe at the time knocking their heads off with just the jab. It was crazy. They weren’t used to it. For us, as kickboxers, it’s totally different to what we’re used to.

So, back then my trainer hooked us up with them and we started doing some sparring. They came to our gym and we did six or seven rounds. Tyson closed both my eyes inside the first four rounds, which was quite a feat considering we were wearing head guards.

He definitely surprised me. After four rounds my trainer said, “Look, he’s a big guy, he’s now going to start getting tired.” He told me to speed up. Already both my eyes were closed. I couldn’t see a lot. But I still thought I was going to speed up and kick his ass.

It never happened. After four rounds, Tyson changed southpaw! I had four rounds of him fighting me orthodox and then he turned southpaw on me. I couldn’t believe it. He was now southpaw and still kicking my a**. I looked over at my trainer as if to say, “What the hell is this guy doing?”

I didn’t enjoy getting my ass whooped, but it was a great learning experience for me. I was already at a decent level in kickboxing, sparring was always difficult for me to find, and this was something completely new. I liked it. It was difficult to hit him, but I knew if I kept on training and kept on improving, I now had something to work towards. Each time we sparred, I got a little bit better.

I got my respect from them as well. I was different to the other fighters they found in Holland. I just kept coming. Even though Tyson was beating my ass at times, I’d never stop. I’d keep coming back, keep taking my beating and, over time, I got my respect from the Furys. It was mutual respect.

I don’t want to say our sport is tougher, but when you get kicked to the body, kicked to the leg and kicked to the head, it’s not nice. It hurts like hell. But you have to keep going and push through the pain barrier. You can’t just stop. With boxing, it’s just arms. That’s the biggest difference. In kickboxing it hurts when you get a kick right on your thigh; there’s no pain like it, especially when you’re not used to it.

That ability to fight through the pain is definitely something the Fury team like about me. I’m used to being hit and hurt. It mentally makes me very strong. A strong punch to the face means nothing to me. It just makes me go, oh, is that it?

Also, in boxing you have 12 rounds. You have time to have a look around and ease your way into the contest. It’s not like that in kickboxing, though. The fights are much shorter and you’re into the action straight away. My championship fights are fought over five rounds. Most other fights are three rounds. As soon as the bell goes, that’s it, you fight. There is no time to waste.

A lot of people on the outside say Tyson is this and Tyson is that. He’s too big, too slow, he can’t do this, he can’t do that. Stand in front of him, that’s all I say. Then come and tell me he’s lacking in this department or that department. If you stand in front of this guy, he’ll knock your f*****g head off. He’s so gifted it’s crazy.

For a man of his size – so big, so heavy – he can move so well. He’ll be backing up against the ropes and I’ll think, right, now I’m going to take his damn head off! But then he’ll just step to the side and I almost fall out of the ring. I think, how the hell does he do that? He’s leaning on the back leg and is still able to move sideways. It really is crazy. He’s so skilled. He’s a natural. Orthodox or southpaw, it doesn’t matter. It’s amazing to watch him at times.

All in all, I have a good feeling about his chances going into this fight with Wladimir Klitschko. I think he has a very good chance of winning.

*** Tyson Fury challenges Wladimir Klitschko for the WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO world heavyweight titles on October 24 in Dusseldorf, Germany. Tickets can be purchased from eventim.co.uk or on 0844 249 1000. The fight will be televised live and exclusively in the UK on Sky Sports Box Office ***

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BOLTON (10 SEPTEMBER) By Peter Fury: Although we contemplated basing ourselves in Ireland for The Big One, we’ll now be in England for the full duration of the camp and then go to Germany one week before the fight. We’ve got a lot of help here and a set-up already established here. It just made sense, I think, to stay in England for this Klitschko fight.

At this point in camp, the work is very focused and intense. The sparring started on Monday and Tyson is well on target. He knows what game plan he has to use and we’re working towards that strategy on a daily basis. We’ll keep working and working on it until it becomes second nature.

Obviously, Tyson should be in very good condition by the time the fight comes around. He should be more than able to go 12 rounds at a very good pace.

In terms of sparring, we’ve brought in people from America, France, Germany and everywhere in between. We’ve got between eight and ten sparring partners and they’re all very tall – in and around the 6’6 and 6’8 region.

Also, I’ve gone for a lot of young, fresh blood this time. I haven’t gone for experienced veterans. They’re all sort of 8-0, 12-0 and 16-0. They come with that bit of hunger and ambition. They come trying to impress. And that’s what we need. We want a good spar from them. We don’t want these over-the-hill but highly-rated veterans who just come over for a quick payday.

It’s been difficult finding these guys, of course. The problem we have is that Wladimir Klitschko’s team will be looking at the same sort of sparring partners as us. They too want guys who are upwards of 6’6. It’s basically a case of who gets there first. We’re looking at a lot of the same people.

I’ve got the Glory world kickboxing champion Rico Verhoeven over and Tyson’s getting some good work out of him. I’ve also got an Armenian K1 fighter who is ranked in the top five in the world. So we’ve got a lot brute strength in there.

These kickboxers don’t mess around. They don’t bring complaints. They get hit and keep coming forward. They’re not afraid of getting hit or being involved in a war. It’s second nature to them. They’re big, strong and they can box as well. We’ve got the best of both worlds really. They can box well and they’re also incredibly tough and durable. They don’t mind getting wet.

Remember, a kickboxing match is a very short and intense fight. There’s no real feeling-out process. These men are used to getting in there and getting down to business very quickly. They’re rough, tough, fighting men. So, as you can imagine, they fit in very well here.

*** Tyson Fury challenges Wladimir Klitschko for the WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO world heavyweight titles on October 24 in Dusseldorf, Germany. Tickets can be purchased from eventim.co.uk or on 0844 249 1000. The fight will be televised live and exclusively in the UK on Sky Sports Box Office ***

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