Tyson Fury is a two-time heavyweight champion of the world – and he got there on both occasions by fighting away from home as the underdog.
The big man from Morecambe first dethroned long-reigning champion Wladimir Klitschko in Germany back in 2015, a unanimous decision against all odds.
Following that, Fury spiralled into depression and addiction, with many fans believing his fighting days were over. He proved that theory wrong with a lowkey return in 2018 with one clear goal in mind – Deontay Wilder.
The hard-hitting American had held the WBC belt for three years, knocking out any man who dared challenge him, when Fury travelled to Las Vegas in his attempts to take it.
It was scored a controversial draw with a notable knockdown in the final round that allowed the Brit to show incredible levels of recovery. The rematch needed no such thing on his part.
Fury – with new trainer SugarHill Steward guiding him – battered Wilder from corner to corner in February of 2020, scoring a seventh round stoppage and completing his comeback.
This week, he celebrated the two-year anniversary of their third fight – another knockout victory but with a bit more trouble from Wilder’s side, who knocked Fury down twice in the fourth round.
Taking to social media, Fury celebrated “spanking the skinny-legged, spaghetti hoop bum.”
The heavyweight fight has been branded one of the most thrilling of this generation, with heart and power in spades. Wilder briefly considered retirement after the beating, whilst Fury actually declared he had hung up the gloves, albeit for a very short period of time.
Both men fight on today, with the potential of a fourth fight not a million miles away.