WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury has claimed he has stopped training until his long-awaited clash with rival WBA Super, WBO and IBF title holder Anthony Joshua is finally signed, sealed and delivered.
Speaking at Friday night’s MTK Global show in Bolton, where he was supporting close friend Isaac Lowe, Fury said no deal was imminent and he was now out of training camp and enjoying rounds of pints, rather than rounds of sparring.
“I’ve been out of the ring for a bit, so I’m back to square one again. I’m not training anymore,” Fury told broadcasters Alex Steedman and Barry Jones on the ESPN+ broadcast. “I’ve packed it in at the moment. I never stopped training since December 2017 and, even after these world title fights, I trained the next day.
“I’m having some time away from the game at the moment because I have been ready to fight since I beat Deontay Wilder last year. So I’ve had no success in getting another fight. It’s down to Covid and a lot of stuff going on. But at the moment I am concentrating on getting from 10 pints of Stella to 12 every day. I could drink 14 pints of beer and still give AJ a hiding.
“I think everyone in this building knows more about this fight than me,” added Fury. “Apparently, it’s done, it’s signed, we’ve got a date, venue, we know how much we are getting – news to me, I don’t know jack.
“As far as I am concerned, I am not even training any more now. [Trainer] Sugarhill [Steward] has gone home, he went home in November, Andy Lee has gone home. I’m burnt out. I’ve done too much. I need a rest mentally and physically and emotionally.
“I’ve not made any money in over a year. I have got a lot of people to pay, a lot of overheads, a lot of hands holding out who need feeding. Give the Gypsy King a break, let me fight.
“Straight from the horse’s mouth, I don’t know anything about no fight. Until I get a date and they say, ‘You are fighting June 15, Antarctica’. Then I will get back into training camp. I only need six or seven weeks’ training for these bums. I don’t need no great sparring partners for a methodical bodybuilding type guy, I just need local binmen and firemen and local strongmen. I am ready to go tonight, I’m in shape fit.”
Fury mischievously claimed he had asked MTK Global promoter Lee Eaton for a spot on Friday night’s show.
“I asked Lee, ‘Can I do an eight-rounder tonight?’,” he said. “I’d love to fight tonight, no problem, but I can’t, so I am actually jealous that these guys can do six-rounders and be active and get under the lights and get rid of the ring rust.
“I’m 32 years old. I’m on the tail-end of my career, getting too long in the tooth for this game. I need to just fight whoever is available out there – Joshua, Wilder, [Dillian] Whyte. Whoever is available to have a dust-up with me. I’m looking for a challenge. I’ve been searching the world for 13 years to find a man who can better me. I just can’t find him.”