Some might call it insane bravado or pure, unadulterated delusions of grandeur, but trash-talking British heavyweight world number 1 contender Tyson Fury (24-0-18KOs) believes he can whack undisputed IBF, WBA and WBO champion Wladimir Klitschko of Ukraine (64-3-53KOs) when they both square up at the ESPRIT arena in Dusseldorf, Germany on Saturday.
The rumble was originally scheduled to go down on October 24 but was postponed till November 28 due to an injury the champion sustained in training.
Fellow Briton and a former WBA champion David Haye, who lost his title in a unification fight to Klitschko in 2011, said that Fury has a 20-1 chance of upending the Ukrainian, one of the longest reigning heavyweight champions in history.
He thinks Fury is in over his head, completely out of his class. “He has never beaten anyone world class. Dereck Chisora is the best person he’s beaten. You look at Klitschko and it is a whole different story” Haye said, according to ESPN.
Nevertheless, the brash Fury, who calls some of his critics “haters,” said he will shock the world on Saturday in Germany, where the fight, because of Klitschko’s celebrity status in his adopted country, is expected to attract about 50 thousand fans to the ESPRIT arena and with millions around the world watching on television.
The 6 feet, 9inches tall Fury, who has a 3-inch height advantage over the champion, has been talking about his opponent in unflattering terms, especially since most pundits don’t think he has the technical skills and power to do significant damage to the champion.
To the doubters and critics out there, Fury poses this question in a Ring Magazine interview: “But do they really think I’m going to let some 40-year-old idiot (Klitschko) in a pair of gloves and shots take food from my kids’ mouths?”
Fury, who is able to switch from orthodox to a southpaw stance, would like to plant doubts in the champion’s mind as the fight progresses by applying pressure to him and using his physical and height advantage to tip the scale in his favor. “What will be awkward for Wladimir is the amount of times he’s going to get hit by me. He is not used to being hit,” Fury said.
The garrulous Fury continues in the same Ring Magazine article: “I visualize Wladimir Klitschko coming out, trying to take the center of the ring, jibbing and jabbing around. I’ll then land a devastating right hook on his jaw and its goodnight Vienna.”
Fury’s take on the fight with the champion is kind of hilarious, but can he back up his invective with a strong showing that will ensure victory? There is no question that Fury matches up physically with Klitschko, who sometimes behaves like a ruffian in the ring by holding, grabbing, elbowing and pushing off to get an opponent off his game plan.
In terms of ability and ring generalship, Klitschko should wipe the floor with the grandiloquent Fury. But, be that as it may, the bloke from Manchester, England does have a chance to pull off an upset even though the bookies say he is a 3-1 underdog if can stay to a game plan and be disciplined throughout the fight.
Fury says he is not afraid to lose as long as he gives it his all in the ring. That mindset makes the challenger dangerous and Klitschko probably knows this. And what role is the champ’s age going to play in this fight? Whether he wants to admit it or not, Klitschko at 39, is battling father time.
Fury is only 26 years old and is full of raging testosterone. So youth and Fury’s fearlessness could be some of the intangibles that determine the outcome of this showdown.
But for Fury to win this fight, he has to avoid the champ setting him up with his patented jab and finishing him off with his short, crippling right hand.
By Bayo Akinnagbe