TYSON FURY’S promoter, Mick Hennessy remains concerned about the gloves he will wear for Saturday’s world heavyweight title challenge against Wladimir Klitschko. The dispute between the two camps boiled into the open this week, with the champion’s manager Bernd Boente condemning Fury’s team for taking five weeks to voice their issue with the Paffen gloves, while Hennessy has insisted Tyson was doing his best to grow accustomed to them but kept hurting his thumb.
“We agreed to wear Paffen gloves, but the agreement is we’ll wear Paffen gloves but they’ve got to fit properly,” Mick told Boxing News. Fury has tried on a second pair which he is satisfied with but his team has been told at the start of this week that the new gloves might not arrive in time for tomorrow’s rules meeting.
“I felt there was something badly wrong. That’s where it all escalated from. We’re happy to wear Paffen gloves but they’ve got to fit, it’s a health and safety issue and no one wants Tyson getting his thumb banged up and having to pull out of this fight or it going in the first round. It’s in no one’s interests. So that’s where the row started,” Hennessy said.
He has since been told that the gloves Fury chose, with the right thumb, will be here in time for tomorrow’s rules meeting. “Am I relaxed about it? No,” Mick said. “I’m concerned, yes, because until I actually see the right gloves and Tyson tries them on, I’m concerned.”
He added, “Everlast, in under 24 hours have sent a whole parcel of different gloves to choose from. So if there are any problems, and the gloves that they’ve promised haven’t been honoured, there’s a parcel of Everlast gloves here. Delivered it in under 24 hours, sealed, so fair play to them.”
This minor skirmish will rumble on as we count down the final hours until the main battle. Klitschko versus Fury is just two days away.
