British heavyweight David Adeleye has spoken about his first encounter with WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and of their ‘awkward’ sparring session that opened his eyes to the levels in the division.
The 25-year-old Londoner of Nigerian heritage is 9-0 as a professional with eight knockouts to his name so far, but perhaps the biggest testament to ‘Big D’s’ ability is the fact that the WBC Heavyweight Champion consistently brings him back for sparring in fight camps.
Fury has often spoke of Adeleye in high regard, and even had the prospect feature on his undercard at Wembley in April. In an interview with iFL TV, Adeleye spoke of the first time he shared the ring with Fury.
“It was in Vegas, I was a 1-0 pro novice and I walked into the gym, he was wrapping his hands, it was me and two other fighters. He was proper cool with us, but the gym was boiling. We hit the bags and whatnot and the next day I was his first spar, but the man was sharp. What you see on TV and what you see in person is two different things. So, I went in there with a certain style, trying to put it on him straight away, but he was slippery. At the end of camp, I understood how to box and use my attributes, see certain things, and then work on my advantages.”
“I went for it, but Tyson’s at the top level so he can kind of weather the storm. It was a good experience though, I’ve never sparred someone as awkward him, it was an awkward experience. Obviously, I knew he was going to be awkward, and I’ve sparred awkward people, but there’s levels.”
Despite not being available to help prepare Fury for Derek Chisora because of his own fight against Michael Wallisch scheduled for November, Adeleye believes Fury’s mentality is what separates him from the other top boxers.
“I learn off the guy, he’s at the top of the tree and he’s been at the top of the tree for some years now. Tyson’s mentality is a bit different to everyone else’s and that’s why he kind of separates him from others, because up there [in his head] he thinks different to others. Being around that all the time, helps me a lot and he’s not far away, he’s always a phone call away.”
Adeleye’s next opponent, Wallisch, has faced the likes of Joe Joyce, Murat Gassiev, Tony Yoka and Efe Ajagba, so it will be interesting to see how ‘Big D’s performance stacks up in comparison. Adeleye – Wallisch headlines a Queensbury show on Friday November 11th and will be available to watch on BT Sport.