Tyson Fury has identified the moment he knew that he could take the win over Deontay Wilder in their third fight – and it came way before the first bell rang.
In his new autobiography, Gloves Off, ‘The Gypsy King’ has pointed to the press conference ahead of the closing chapter of the trilogy as to when he knew Wilder was mentally defeated.
The former-champion chose not to speak, almost at all, and sat instead with dark glasses and big headphones on. For Fury, it was a sign of weakness.
“When the time came for me to face Wilder in the ring for the third time, I knew he was there for the taking again because he’d sat through our LA press conference in June wearing a pair of sunglasses and a set of headphones. That had revealed a serious lack of self-belief.”
Fury would go on to knock Wilder out in the eleventh following an action-packed heavyweight scrap with knockdowns for both men.
Following the beating, many in the sport thought the American might hang up the gloves for good. On the contrary, he is now a win away from potentially setting up a fourth with Fury.
On his mind games in general, ‘The Gypsy King’ compares himself to a telepathic superhero.
“When it came to the type of mind games needed to dominate the headlines before a fight, I was a master like Professor X – the X-Men mutant with telepathic powers who could affect a person’s thoughts from 250 miles away.”
“During interviews I have always made a point of wriggling inside the head of an experienced opponent. And I have psyched-out reigning champs like Wladimir Klitschko at weigh-ins and media events. Any-one hoping to have a go at me in the build-up to a title bout is plonked on to an emotional roller coaster. The ride shakes them up, corkscrews them around and chucks them into a loop-the-loop.
“Having been spat out at the other end, feeling totally wrecked, most of my rivals are left thinking, ‘What’s what?’ and ‘Who’s who?’ From that moment on, they see a different person every time they look at me. And it always freaks them out.”
Fury’s famous sauna story with Klitschko perhaps confused the Ukrainian more than anything, but Fury certainly seems to think it helped in beating him. Who are we to argue? The man is an undefeated two-time heavyweight champion.
Next up is Tyson Fury vs Derek Chisora – and it remains to be seen whether ‘The Gypsy King’ can bamboozle ‘Del-Boy’, who’s known to try same himself.