It’s clear that undefeated heavyweight champion Tyson Fury would prefer Saturday’s match against former training partner Dillian Whyte to be all about boxing.
The match at Wembley Stadium in London will be Fury’s first match in England in four years after fighting back and forth in the United States.
And for this homecoming, he will face a friendly, even fierce opponent.
But the sideshows at boxing matches often get as much attention as the fight, and this one is no exception.
The friends-only mood was broken at Thursday’s traditional pre-fight press conference. As the warriors stood nose-to-nose for a photo opportunity, Fury’s father and a member of Whyte’s entourage started talking to each other.
“Everybody calm down,” Fury shouted. “Damn.”
Last week, US Treasury Department announces new sanctions against Kinahan familyAn Irish organized crime group led by Daniel Kinahan, a boxing power broker and Fury’s adviser, officials say. The State Department also offered a $5 million reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Kinahan, his father and brother.
Fury’s US-based promoter, Bob Arum, told reporters in Ireland, photographed with a boxer in Dubai this winterhas It grossed $8 million From Fury’s last four games. Fury was repeatedly asked about his relationship with Kinahan at a press conference this week, but he declined to give details.
“It’s none of my business and I don’t get involved in other people’s business, so it doesn’t really concern me,” Fury told an interviewer at Sky Sports.
Things can go more smoothly in the ring.
Whyte is making his debut for a major world title after half a decade of competing for smaller titles, a dignified forward with a thunderous left hook. He won 19 knockouts out of 28 wins and defeated a number of first and second-place heavyweight contenders.
But it can be vulnerable.
In December 2015, he was knocked out by heavyweight title winner Anthony Joshua, and in August 2020, whyte, a heavyweight betting favorite, was knocked out by an uppercut by Russia’s Alexander Povetkin, despite dominating him for most. match. Whyte returned seven months later to knock out Povetkin, which put him in line for the World Boxing Council championship game.
Undefeated, Fury remained versatile. He may be the first tactical boxer to claim the world title with a cautious decision against Wladimir Klitschko in November 2015. That night, Fury only landed 86 punches in 12 rounds, but Klitschko only tied 52 times.
Or Fury could show up in his last two games with Deontay Wilder as the heavy-handed brawler eagerly exchanging blows with the division’s strongest punch. In October, Fury escaped a double knockout to stop Wilder in the 11th round of his third game.
Whyte said at the press conference that he was ready for any iteration of his opponent.
“This challenge is about adapting and making quick decisions,” said Whyte, 34, who weighs 253 pounds.
Organizers expect 94,000 spectators, and Fury’s UK-based promoter Frank Warren said ticket revenue would make the fight card the highest-grossing event in the stadium’s history.
Ticket sales point to boxing’s continued popularity in the UK. They reveal both a pent-up demand to see Fury, who have not competed in England since a 10-round decision against Francesco Pianeta in 2018, and a feeling that the Whyte match could turn into a spectacular fight.
“They’re going to see a good tear,” said Fury, who weighs 33,264 pounds. “I know Dillian personally, he knows me and we’re going to rock and roll.”
“For an old boxing match against two old boys where people wiped out their entire careers,” Fury added, “we didn’t do it bad, did we?”
Fury never had to come back from a loss, but after winning Klitschko he spent more than two years in boxing and has spoken publicly about the depression and heavy drinking that accompanied his dismissal.
Enter Kinahan according to “Clash of the Clans”. by investigative journalist Nicola TallantHe befriended Fury in 2017 and helped get him back into the sport.
According to Tallant’s book, Fury’s former manager Ben Davison said, “It was a blessing for him to have someone come up and say, ‘Don’t worry, I believe you, I’ve got your back.
Fury hasn’t been nearly as open about his relationship with Kinahan, whose ties to professional boxing are both obvious and inexplicable. Kinahan managed a promotional outfit called MGM, whose last event in February 2016 was canceled after a shoot at the weigh-in. The company changed its name to MTK Global and said it cut ties with Kinahan, but Arum told reporters that Kinahan continues to run the company and raises money from Fury’s fights.
On Wednesday, MTK Global announced it was closing, saying US sanctions against the Kinahan family were lifted. frightened away the business partners of the company.