Fury could pull out of Klitschko fight due to state of ring

Tyson Fury pitched a tizzy on Saturday ahead of his heavyweight title fight against Wladimir Klitschko.

Fury added: “I didn’t believe this fight was going to happen for a long, long time”. He is a charcter and boxing needs guys like him to spice things up a bit.

After a big build up to the world title showdown, it was time for the boxing to do the talking. “I will be the most charismatic champion since Muhammad Ali”, he said before serenading his wife in the crowd with a song by American band Aerosmith. “Fury could only win if I let him and I will not allow that to happen”.

With his uncle Peter Fury in his corner, the challenger has never suffered a knockdown and tends to be more disciplined, unlike in the past when visiting the canvas twice during a more reckless spell in his undefeated 24-0 career. I’m still just a man made of blood and bone. This fight will take place in Dusseldorf Germany and will be televised live on HBO Championship Boxing. They say the Klitschko camp have inserted three layers of foam under the canvas – it’s like walking through quicksand.

It was Klitschko’s 28th title fight, but the premier heavyweight of this era relinquished the IBF belt he had held since 2006, the WBO title he’d owned since 2008, and the WBA crown he’d had since 2011.

The build-up to the fight had been colourful and controversial, ranging from Fury’s entrance to a London press conference dressed as Batman to threats by the Briton that he would pull out of the contest altogether due to issues over gloves and the ring canvas.

Middlesbrough’s former Commonwealth Games middleweight gold medallist John Pearce, an amateur rival of Carl Froch: “I was over in the Ukraine in 1997 for a Euro qualifier and even back then the people there were saying the Klitschko brothers trained like professionals even though they had amateur vests on”.

“Fury will give it a good go, but I don’t think Klitschko has gone back that much”.

“100 per cent I’m going to become heavyweight champion by knockout”.

He kept landing left-right combinations with Klitschko, not used to fighting taller men than him, struggling with Fury’s reach.

“A win over Wladimir Klitschko puts me right up there with all them players”.

Klitschko came out hard in the 12th and looked for the knock-out as Fury visibly exhausted, but both raised their fists in triumph at the final bell.

Klitschko showed vulnerability and Fury certainly played his part. “I had some challenging fights before that and then again with Haye”.