ITโS time to get serious. Tyson Fury has struck a light-hearted presence for the most part in the final days leading up to Saturdayโs world title fight with Wladimir Klitschko. โEverythingโs been done, all of the funny acts and scripts, all me trying to sell the fight has been done. Everything thatโs been done has been done, I donโt need to do anything any more. I just need to sit back, relax and smile,โ Fury said.
With the day ofย their heavyweight confrontation at hand he has become more focused. But he insists no nerves have crept in. โIt is what it is. I was born for this so this is my time,โ Tyson said. โYou donโt get nervous at the final hurdle. Jump over it and keep going.โ
Their language has mirrored each other, a sort of indirect argument, each of them has a very different take on their sport. Unlike Fury, Klitschko admitted to nerves but spoke of how that anxiety concentrated his thoughts. Wladimir wasnโt sure how the Fury fight would go. In a way similar to Tyson, he described the challenge as a hurdle, but Klitschkoย couldn’t tell how high a hurdle it would be until he came to it. In other words, he couldnโt know how hard this bout with Fury will be until that first bell rings to start off the fight itself.
Tyson did not get hung up on these questions of perspective. His view is clear and certain. โI already know I can beat him. I knew it from the first moment I laid eyes on him,โ he said.
He contrasted himself with Klitschko. โYou look at Wlad. When heโs been hurt and when heโs been down in previous fights, does he adapt to plan B or does he get stopped there and then? No plan B,โ Tyson said. โItโs not about taking a punch, itโs about believing you can carry on no matter what the situation, whether itโs a crisis situation. Iโm glad Iโve had a proper grounding where Iโve been hit, Iโve been hurt, Iโve stood up and been hurt and Iโve been put down and been hurt. Iโm been in almost brinks of defeat situations and Iโve always managed to come through, get back on top. He has as well but when he gets hurt, he stays hurt. He doesnโt recover. When heโs gone, heโs gone, Wlad.
โOnly true champions can get back up after being decked and being on the way out and turn the fight round.โ
Such confidence comes from another contrast Fury sees between himself and the champion. Simply put, Tyson says, โIโm a natural and heโs a manufactured fighter. Everything Wlad knows heโs learned in a boxing gym. Most things I know have come natural to me.
โI think he thinks heโs a true, true professional. I think he thinks heโs the perfect specimen of a human being and I think he believes that no one can beat him, because of his mentality and because of the style that heโs perfected over the years.โ
This week Klitschko was indeed adamant that he could only lose if he himself allowed it to happen, and that his ego would not permit that. Fury struck a different tone, countering, โI know no manโs unbeatable. Because I have faith and I believe in the Lord and I know that nobodyโs unbeatable. If a child can beat a proven warrior then anybody can beat anybody. Ego, like we were talking about earlier, can be the biggest downfall in a manโs life. When you believe that no one can touch you and nothing can beat you, the Almighty will strike you down, like he did with Goliath.โ
At six foot nine, with a long reach, Fury is perhaps an unlikely David to Klitschkoโs Goliath. But Tyson has faith that Wladimir can be laid low. โChins donโt get any better they just get worse,โ Fury said. โHeโs almost made his chin like the city of Troy with the high walls. But even Troy was breached with a bit of brains wasnโt it. Iโm the Trojan Horse for him most definitely.โ
Klitschko maintains that he is in control of his destiny. Fury seems to believe this story has already been written. โThe way I see it, itโs way out of my hands now. Nothing to do with me at the moment. This might sound mad but if itโs in Godโs will for me to be the champion on Saturday, I will be. I cannot alter that one bit. Iโve done my training, Iโve done everything that I should have done as a human being to be in this position. I cannot alter the outcome on Saturday, if itโs scripted down for me already, if thatโs in my video being played then itโll be and if not, it wonโt be,” he said.ย โPhysically itโs in my fists. But the outcome of the fight is up to God. If he can use me for any sort of thing, then I will win the fight. If Iโm of no use to God then I wonโt win the fight, will I? Simple. Thatโs why Iโm not one percent nervous.
“Because I know what will be, will be. No more and no less.โ
He does however have a bleak view of what lies ahead of him on Sunday morning. โThereโs nothing going to surpass what Iโm going to do on Saturday night,โ Fury mused. โAfter the fight Iโm going to be in a very depressed mood for about 10 days for sure. When I win, I will crash and hit the floor completely. I will go from the ceiling to the floor and I will not be allowed to be around anybody for at least a week or 10 days.
โAfter 10 days I come back normal again, then I can finally start to enjoy what Iโve done. Because Iโm not the nicest person to be around after a fight, I can tell you that. I probably need locking in a room, feeding under the door.โ
Victory might not change his mood, but it would alter the world’s reaction to him. If he winsย and becomes the new heavyweight champion of the world, Fury reflects, โI could be a global phenomenon, because of my personality, my boxing style and the way I conduct myself.โ
That though isnโt a prospect he appears to greatly relish, saying, โFame, being recognised by people and all that sort of stuff, is not in my agenda. Not really interested in it. Iโm doing this fight not for money, not for fame, not for glory. Iโm doing this because I want to show everybody how to beat a man who canโt be beaten.โ
Klitschko v Fury is live on Sky Sports Box Office this Saturday. Buy now at skysports.com/klitschkofury