Tag Archives: Tyson Fury

Posted on 07/19/2022

By John “Gutterdandy” Walker

Finland’s Robert Helenius provided one of heavyweight boxing’s highlights of 2021 when he destroyed the heavily hyped Adam Kownacki for the second time in two fights on the undercard of the final bout in the Fury vs Wilder trilogy in Las Vegas.

“The Nordic Nightmare” had already stopped Kownacki in round four of their first encounter in 2020, in a bout that Kownacki supporters deemed a mistake, one they claimed their man would rectify in a rematch. Helenius (31-3, 20 KOs), however, showed he was truly back in terrifying form, after a long spell of mediocre results following a severe shoulder injury, when he busted up the Polish born fighter in the rematch, breaking his left orbital bone on the way to a sixth round TKO win.

For his efforts, Helenius was presented with a “gold belt” by the WBA.

His second destruction of Kownacki was a truly impressive performance, and now Helenius is waiting to prove himself once again. And at age 38, he is growing anxious to get back in the ring sooner rather than later.

However, the static nature of the current heavyweight division in 2022, with its endless rematches and long, tedious spells between title fights, is now working against the Finnish brawler.

Having waited long enough, Helenius is now speaking out. In a recent interview with Sky Sports, the Finn expressed his impatience, saying that he should rightfully be next in line for a title shot against the winner of the upcoming title rematch between current champion Oleksandr Usyk of Ukraine and former titleholder Anthony Joshua of the UK.

Helenius says the WBA has mishandled his situation.

“I definitely should be next,” Helenius told Sky Sports.

“Every elimination bout after mine is bullshit! At this point, if we are not designated the mandatory after Usyk’s next fight, we will have only one option. My lawyers are very confident that the WBA have bungled this whole thing, so I am confident in my position,” Helenius argues.

The Nordic Nightmare has also in recent days been mentioned by promoter Frank Warren and manager Shelly Finkel as a possible opponent for the former WBC heavyweight champ Deontay Wilder in a comeback fight this fall. It was Helenius who sparred with Wilder in the lead-up to the final, brutal match in the latter man’s trilogy with Tyson Fury.

Helenius, however, is keeping his eyes on the prize: a heavyweight title fight that he feels he has earned.

“For now, I will just stay focused on training and see how Usyk versus Joshua and my WBA situation plays out,” Helenius says.

“But I remain in a great position for something very big in the coming months for sure.”

Posted on 07/12/2022

by John “Gutterdandy” Walker

Back when WBC world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury of the UK knocked out former title holder Deontay Wilder in November, 2021, it seemed as if the stock of the Fury clan–Tyson Fury, his father “Gypsy” John Fury, his half-brother Tommy Fury–could only keep rising.  

Tyson Fury had now beaten the American, one of the hardest punchers in boxing history, twice out of three tries, and even their first meeting, which was called a draw, many believed was also in reality a Fury win, as the Brit fighter appeared to have easily won the majority of the rounds.

However, since that last fight in this heavyweight trilogy, it seems that flying too close to the sun has caused the Fury clan’s collective wings to begin to melt. 

Gypsy John Fury, an ex-convict and former heavyweight boxer who often seems to live vicariously through the exploits of his son Tyson, quickly escalated his already boisterous rhetoric following his son’s latest win over Wilder.  He appeared to become intoxicated by his many media appearances, and soon he was making ever wilder claims not only about the boxing prowess of his son Tyson, but of himself. 

Gypsy John now began to claim that he could beat many of the fighters his son was being matched against.  He also said he was issuing a challenge to any man in his 50s who thought he could defeat John Fury to step up and offer a challenge, and then see how badly they would be beaten up.  “Pop Pop, BANG, on the floor, end of, ya bum” became Gypsy John’s comical motto.

Gypsy John proclaimed himself the “best 50 odd-year-old man in the world” when it came to fighting and when it came to virility.  His on-camera commentating performances grew ever more hyperbolic, as he bellowed “pop pop BANG” while physically demonstrating how quickly he would dispose of any challenger. 

But what John Fury wasn’t counting on was Mickey Theo, a gentlemanly bodybuilder two years older than Gypsy John, soon taking up his challenge.  Theo began making numerous appearances on the boxing-themed YouTube channel Porky’s Corner, where Theo–his heavily veined, Popeye-looking forearms bulging –and sardonic host “The Pork” aka “Porky” began to challenge Gypsy John to meet Theo in the ring, with the proceeds from ticket sales going to the British National Health Service.

To make things spicier, Theo and The Pork managed to dig up two clips of Gypsy John Fury getting knocked out during his own professional career in devastating fashion.  The two men howled with laughter while watching the clips and mocking Fury’s lack of boxing prowess.  “Come on John, ‘pop pop Bang, end of, ya bum!'” laughed The Pork.  The man shown writhing on the canvas in pain, beaten down, in these clips was the same man now claiming he could beat any 50-year-old fighter alive? Really?

Suddenly, John Fury became less interested in fighting another man in his 50s.  Rumors soon spread that bodybuilder-turned-boxer Theo had knocked out a professional fighter with a hard body shot early on in a gym bout.  Perhaps aware of Theo’s reputation, John Fury soon began to hem and haw, coming up with a variety of conditions and excuses as to why he could not or would not be able to fight Mickey Theo.  Then Gypsy John Fury suddenly went off the grid. Theo would continue to periodically pursue the fight, but at this stage, John Fury was obviously not up for the challenge.

From there, things have only gotten worse for the Fighting Fury Clan, as Jake Paul, the infamous “YouTube boxer” who already had a fight with Gypsy John’s son Tommy, a half-brother to Tyson, fall through, began to show a mastery of the social media trolling and mind games that had been the Furys’ forte until now, as Paul turned the tables on them. 

Soon, the Fury family would fall into almost complete disarray as Jake Paul called them on all of their overblown rhetoric, exposing a web of seeming contradictions and hypocrisy in the process.

Tomorrow: Part 2, Jake Paul vs “Tommy Fumbles”

Posted on 05/06/2022

by John “Gutterdandy” Walker

Former heavyweight champions of the world the Klitschko brothers, Wladimir and Vitali, won’t be cheering on WBA light heavyweight champion Dimitry Bivol when the latter man takes on superstar Canelo Alvarez this Saturday evening at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Though Bivol (19-0, 11 KOs), a Russian, has spoken out against the war his country has chosen to wage against neighboring Ukraine, the Ukrainian Klitschko brothers are far from satisfied about Bivol is getting a world wide platform to perform against Alvarez (57-1-2, 39 KOs) in the middle of a bloody conflict that his country started.

According to former unified world heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko, currently fighting on the front lines with his brother [the current mayor of Kyiv] Vitali, it’s nothing personal against Bivol, but a matter of principle.

In an interview with the BBC, Wladimir recently opined that “[Bivol should] absolutely not [be facing Canelo]. Every sanction, and it’s nothing against the personality or athletes, it’s about the politics of Russia.”

“Every Russian representative in this case needs to be sanctioned, because this way we show to Russia that the world is against this senseless war and that there’s no good in this war,” Klitschko said.

Bivol, of course, sees the issue differently, and claims the realms of sports and politics should be kept separate.

“All his career I support [Wladimir], I liked how he was fighting and of course I was glad when he won,” said a somber Bivol.

“He is [a] sportsman, he should know sports and politics is different. He was [an] athlete. Now he is politician. It is sad that wants to shake it up and mix sport and politics,” a downcast Bivol told Britain’s IFL TV.

While the Klitschkos won’t be making a Vegas trip to see Bivol defend his title against Alvarez, one face to look for at ringside is that of current “retired” WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.

Last weekend, Matchroom promotions honcho Eddie Hearn put on a successful women’s boxing headliner featuring popular Irish fighter Katie Taylor at Madison Square Garden in NYC.

Irish compatriots such as former pugilist Matthew “Mack The Knife” Macklin, and according to rumor, Tyson Fury himself were slated to fly to Manhattan to cheer on their woman, but Mackin and “other boxing figures” were refused entry into the USA due to their connections with former MGM/MTK honcho and reputed Irish mob kingpin, Daniel Kinahan (“MTK” is an acronym for Mack The Knife).

Fury, rumor has it, was tipped off not to get on the plane to Manhattan. The WBC champion, who recently made light work of hapless challenger Dillian Whyte, was very friendly with Kinahan until the FBI offered a $5 million reward for the mob boss, at which point an agitated Fury was adamant that he knew nothing of Kinahan’s business and split ties with him.

If Fury, who recently bought a home in the Las Vegas area, and who is due to meet with the WBC next week to discuss his retirement plans–which he claims are 100% irreversible–fails to show at the Canelo vs Bivol tilt, the rumor mill over Fury’s own legal status regarding Kinahan and the now-defunct MTK Global promotional outfit will surely go into overdrive.

Posted on 04/25/2022

By John “Gutterdandy” Walker

Dillian “The Body Snatcher” Whyte, who was defeated in what appeared to be a one-sided bout against WBC champion Tyson “The Gypsy King” Fury last Saturday in the UK, is now crying foul, blaming Fury for using dirty tactics and also slamming the referee for allowing Fury to push him to the mat and to rabbit punch him throughout the contest.

“I was trying to get my senses [after Fury connected with an uppercut] and he fully two-handed pushed me and I fell over and hit my head,” Whyte explains. “It was a terrible job from the referee. I should have had time to recover and have time to go back to my corner.”

Whyte contends that the contest with Fury was a very even, back and forth affair, with him giving as good as he was getting throughout the fight. Yet most boxing fans and analysts seemed to see it as a one-sided contest that Fury ended with a sixth round uppercut that the WBC champion’s team later admitted was inspired by now-retired Russian veteran Alexander Povetkin’s knockout of the year, detonating Whyte’s chin back in 2020.

Whyte mocked and derided former WBC champion Deontay Wilder when he made a series of ever more outlandish claims against Fury after being manhandled and stopped in the second of three matches with The Gypsy King. But now, Whyte himself is choosing to go the same route as Wilder did, making a series of complaints and demanding a rematch, though also realizing that he will need to beat another top heavyweight before that happens, if the WBC champion doesn’t decide to stick to his plans to retire.

Whyte may be trying to stay relevant in the heavyweight division by calling Fury a dirty fighter, and there is some historical truth to that claim. Earlier in his career, for instance, Fury employed a barrage of rabbit punches to the head of Canadian heavyweight champion Neven Pajkic after Pajkic had knocked him flat, and did the same to American Steve Cunningham, a former cruiserweight champion who also put Fury on the canvas in the Brit’s fighting debut at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan.

But whether Fury employed dirty tactics sufficent to beat Whyte is another question entirely. Truth be told, since his victory over top contender Joseph Parker of New Zealand in 2018, Dillian Whyte’s career has been headed on a downward trajectory.  Since that fight, Whyte has been embroiled in controversies and often looked less than impressive in the ring:

Whyte vs Oscar Rivas (2019): Whyte gets knocked down and edges Rivas with a UD under a cloud of suspicion: dianabol steroids are found in his blood and an accusation was made of Whyte using illegal gloves that were substituted for the agreed upon mitts just before the fight. Rivas’ trainer Russ Anber is furious and files a complaint with British Boxing Board of Control

Whyte vs Mariusz Wach (2019): Whyte goes life and death with the giant Polish journeyman Wach, taking a beating that actually leaves him looking like the loser of the match. The unanimous decision scores for Whyte seem not to accurately reflect what actually happened in the ring. At times an out of shape Whyte was literally hanging on.

Whyte vs Alexander Povetkin 1 (2020): Whyte is utterly destroyed by the KO of the year from the aging Povetkin. The Body Snatcher is knocked out cold on his feet by a masterfully delivered uppercut from the Russian veteran.

Whyte vs Alexander Povetkin 2 (2021):  Povetkin is brought in fresh out of a Russian hospital and still suffering from long covid symptoms. He is stopped by Whyte in a rematch that shouldn’t have taken place at that time.

Whyte vs Otto Wallin (2021, cancelled):  Whyte pulls out of the fight with 10 days left to go, in an incredibly shoddy move.  He and promoter Eddie Hearn fail to provide any evidence of an “injured shoulder,” and Hearn is downright sneering and dismissive about it.  Wallin, who gave Tyson Fury fits in their 2019 fight, is understandably livid. Whyte then disappears to await a title shot against Tyson Fury.

Whyte vs Tyson Fury (2022): Whyte seems off balance and struggles to make an impact. Fury takes him out with an uppercut that he later admits was modelled on the same punch Povetkin took “The Body Snatcher” out with.  Helluva punch, but still not as powerful as Povetkin’s masterpiece, which was one of the greatest one-punch KO shots in boxing history.

The question thus arises: was Dillian Whyte prevented from achieving heavyweight glory by “dirty tactics” used by Tyson Fury, enabled by an inattentive referee?

Or had Dillian Whyte been going downhill for the last few years, and was sold to the public via hype from fighters like David Haye, Dereck Chisora, and to some extent Tyson Fury himself, all who went out of their way to elevate the reputation of a man they knew had little to no chance of dethroning the heavyweight champion?

No doubt Whyte will now try to convince the boxing public it’s the former answer, but a close look at Whyte’s recent record suggests it’s the latter.

Posted on 04/23/2022

By: Hans Themistode

With only a few hours away before fighting for his first world title, the magnitude of the event has seemingly hit Dillian Whyte.

“I’m about to become world champion,” said Whyte during an interview with Lucky Block.

Whyte, 34, has done his best to work his way back up the heavyweight ranks following his fifth-round stoppage defeat at the hands of Anthony Joshua in 2015. In an effort to prove that he is, in fact, worthy of challenging for a world title, Whyte reeled off 11 consecutive victories. Amongst his more notable triumphs, Whyte defeated former heavyweight champions Joseph Parker and Lucas Browne.

While a jaw-dropping loss against Alexander Povetkin knocked Whyte off his world title path momentarily, an equally as impressive knockout win in their immediate rematch has placed him on the verge of championship glory. In order to reach the crescendo of the pugilistic sport, Whyte will attempt to sully the record of current WBC heavyweight kingpin, Tyson Fury.

As a crowd of nearly 100,000 is expected to fill Wembley Stadium later on tonight, the normally stoic demeanor of Whyte begins to change. For most fighters, becoming a world champion is an immediate goal the moment they first enter a gym and put on their first pair of boxing gloves. In Whyte’s case, however, fighting on the grandest of stages with all of the marbles on the line, never crossed his mind.

“I didn’t put on the gloves to be world champion. I put the gloves on to come off the streets, not get killed, and not kill someone, try to change my life. I literally put the gloves on to stay out of trouble but it took my life over because I was too tired from training. I was learning a new skill and picking something up. It just took my life over.”

Despite turning his life around and focusing his efforts on honing his skills, Whyte received a late start in the boxing world. In his first official bout as an amateur, Whyte was already 20 years of age. He would also go on to have only six amateur contests.

Regardless of his relatively short time in the unpaid ranks, Whyte has worked diligently to improve himself. In doing so, he’s carefully surveyed the boxing landscape. Ultimately, while Fury and Whyte will do battle in just a few short hours, the highly ranked contender has a great amount of reverence for what Fury brings to the table.

At the age of 33, Fury often finds his name near the very top of the heavyweight food chain. In his most recent trips to the ring, the British star violently closed the chapter on his rivalry against Deontay Wilder.

Primarily known as a boxer for most of his career, Fury opted against his typical box-first approach. Instead, the 6’9” titlist barreled forward, roughing Wilder up on the inside before stopping him on back-to-back occasions. Although he emerged victoriously, Fury’s less tactical game plan allowed Wilder to have his moments of success, dropping the British product on two occasions.

Admittedly, considering the malleable nature of Fury, Whyte is unsure how the heavyweight belt holder will choose to approach their upcoming bout. However, on several occasions, Fury has stated that he plans on bringing the fight directly to Whyte from the opening bell. Should Fury prove to be a man of his word, a sly smile spreads across the face of Whyte. If Fury is willing to stand in the middle of the ring and bang with the rough and rugged contender, Whyte is quick to point out that he isn’t Wilder and is more than willing to play Fury’s game.

“When he presses forward, he’s more vulnerable. Sometimes, being a taller fighter and being aggressive is one of the worst things you can do. I’m physically stronger than Tyson Fury. I’m not Wilder. Wilder ain’t got physical strength. He’s got speed and athleticism and he’s awkward. But physical strength, I got physical strength in abundance and I got more heart as well.”

Posted on 04/22/2022

By John “Gutterdandy” Walker

While fans can argue about who may emerge victorious this Saturday when WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and challenger Dillian Whyte meet at Wembley Stadium in the UK, one thing the lead-up to this fight has made clear is that the mainstream boxing media itself is already a big loser before a single punch has been thrown. The media has too often shown itself to be asleep at the switch and remarkably incurious in the face of some very strange goings on.

The curious events surrounding this fight actually started back in October of 2021, when Whyte was supposed to face off against Sweden’s Otto Wallin, a rising heavyweight who gave Tyson Fury fits during their meeting in September of 2019. Early in that fight, Wallin ripped Fury’s face open with a punch, the gash so severe that it could have (and maybe should have) ended the fight, which would have seen The Gypsy King take his first loss.

Fury fought bravely, but by the final round, Wallin was dominating, literally knocking his opponent around the ring. The final scores submitted by the judges gave Fury a comfortable win that didn’t accurately reflect what had just taken place in the ring.

As the fight date with Wallin approached, the highly ranked Dillian Whyte was losing ground among bettors: Wallin’s strong performance against Fury, along with the fact that Whyte had suffered a devastating knockout at the hands of 40-year-old Russian veteran Alexander Povetkin in August of 2020 (he “avenged” that loss against a Covid-19 weakened Povetkin in the rematch in March 2021) were the main reasons given for this loss of confidence in “The Body Snatcher.”

The more the fight was discussed, the more it seemed to fans and analysts alike that the talented Swedish counter-puncher had an excellent shot at beating Whyte and setting up a rematch with the now WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.

It was then that strange events began to occur.

It should be noted that Dillian Whyte was already no stranger to controversy. When he fought Montreal-based Columbian heavyweight Oscar Rivas in July of 2019 in the UK, Whyte emerged victorious with a unanimous decision (even though he had been knocked down in the ninth round), but it later emerged that steroids had been detected in Whyte’s blood before the fight, and that the Rivas camp was not made aware of this by either promoter Eddie Hearn or the British Boxing Board of Control.

Whyte was much later “cleared” by UK Anti Doping (UKAD), though they didn’t deny the fighter had steroids in his system, There were also complaints about Whyte’s very late switching of his gloves for fight, and a complaint was filed by infuriated Rivas trainer Russ Anber. One boxing publication said the Rivas-Whyte fight was buried beneath a “mountain of controversy.”

So perhaps it should have been no surprise when Dillian Whyte pulled out of his scheduled fight with Otto Wallin a mere ten days before the fight. The reason given was that Whyte suffered a “shoulder injury,” with no medical evidence offered up by the fighter or his promoter, Eddie Hearn. Wallin was understandably furious, but Hearn was dismissive, and the normally vociferous Whyte was mostly silent, a state of being that he would continue right into the lead-up to this Saturday’s title fight with Tyson Fury at Wembley Stadium in the UK.

Whyte inexplicably refused to take part in the promotion for this fight until he appeared at a Zoom press conference on April 14 (Whyte also no-showed the public workout during fight week). One might have thought the first question for Whyte from the carefully selected journalists in attendance would have been, “How is your shoulder holding up?” Shoulder injuries in boxing are often very serious, as both former WBO and WBC champion Vitali Klitschko and current contender Robert Helenius, who both suffered major career setbacks due to bad shoulders, can verify.

Dillian Whyte’s shoulder, if nothing else, was certainly set in the “cold” position during the lead-up to his upcoming bout with Fury, as he continually blew off media appearances and remained a ghostly figure.

If Dillian Whyte’s shoulder injury was bad enough to cause him to ditch the fight with Wallin with only ten days to go, it should have been logical to ask Whyte if he had experienced any problems with it in training camp. But not one of the selected journalists, many with years of experience and awards, even thought to mention it. Most seemed concerned with the usual “buddying up” to fighters with jovial greetings of “How’s it going champ?” and general inquiries that elicited superficial responses. It seemed as if no one really believed Whyte’s injury was legitimate in the first place, so why ask about it now?

After all, that might rock the boat.

This kind of obliviousness, intentional or otherwise, by the boxing media leading up to Fury vs Whyte has not just been limited to questions asked [or not asked] of Whyte. Tyson Fury’s involvement with reputed Irish drug cartel boss Daniel Kinahan, now a wanted man on the run from law enforcement with a $5 million dollar bounty on his head, was also given a pass in this initial virtual press conference. The reporters selected to ask Fury questions studiously avoided any mention of the Irish mob boss, a former close confidante of The Gypsy King.

When MTK Global boxing promotions, a Kinahan vehicle, finally collapsed and shut down entirely the following week, yet the boxing press still did its level best to ignore the situation. When Fury was finally asked a question about his former advisor Kinahan, he looked and sounded annoyed, and said that it was “none of his business,” but what he really seemed to be saying, judging by his tone, was, “it’s none of your business.”

This from a man who once wore the MTK logo on his clothing and who is making millions of dollars from his upcoming fight–which Fury now insists will be his last, in marked contrast to what he was saying before the Kinahan story hit the news.

A jittery and shaken Fury even claimed that the only time he’d broken the law was when he received a speeding ticket, yet spoke during the final press conference of the cocaine-fuelled binge that caused him to cancel two scheduled rematches with Ukrainian world heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko, who Fury dethroned in 2015 during a period of tumult in Klitschko’s personal life.

At press time, snorting cocaine is still against the law in the United Kingdom. But no one in the press caught this contradiction either. Follow-up questions are not the specialty of the current mainstream boxing press.

In The Guardian newspaper, Donald McRae wrote witheringly that the initial Zoom press conference for Fury vs Whyte “was engineered so that the only reporters invited to put any questions to Fury were those intent on swapping ingratiating greetings with him or asking him about his golf swing, his faith or how it will feel to fight on St George’s Day. Kinahan’s name was not mentioned once in over 50 minutes of banality, deception and stupidity. It was a shameful day for the charade of boxing journalism.”

In fact, this entire promotion has shown that the mainstream boxing media has often become nothing more than “access journalism,” a term often favored by scrappy American cultural commentator Jimmy Dore. When a journalist is too afraid to ask a question because what he or she really wants to do is to be buddies with fighters and/or promoters, and to protect his or her access to those same people, then that person is no longer a journalist, but a PR flack. And that is what too many boxing writers have become in 2022: practitioners of access journalism; public relations hacks masquerading as actual journalists.

Asking a question that might rock the boat, that might upset the camps of Tyson Fury or Dillian Whyte, is thus often deemed not worth the price that might have to be paid by the questioner.

The fate of Otto Wallin, who due to Dillian Whyte’s mysterious “shoulder injury” was left holding the bag for a long training camp and its attendant monetary and physical expenses, and denied a possible rematch with Tyson Fury, is of little concern to “access boxing journalists.” There are free tickets to fights, free food at press events, and back-slapping superficial interviews to protect. Oppositional journalism is just not in style, and in fact now marks one as a pariah in the small world of boxing writers.

So Otto Wallin will sit and watch to see what happens on Saturday, and wonder at what might have been.

And to see if Dillian Whyte’s tricky shoulder holds up.

Posted on 04/22/2022

By: Hans Themistode

Over the past few years, Tyson Fury has tipped the scales north of 270 pounds. With the WBC heavyweight titlist weighing in at 273 and 277 pounds respectively in back-to-back triumphs over Deontay Wilder, the British star vowed to follow that same procedure. However, despite promising to come in at his heaviest for his upcoming title defense against Dillian Whyte, Fury was considerably trimmer.

Whyte stepped onto the scales first. He wore black gloves and donned a black shirt, as he looked stoically into the crowd. Moments later, it was revealed that the WBC mandatory challenger weighed in at 253 pounds, his heaviest since 2019. As Whyte moved aside for Fury to make his way onto the podium, the loquacious heavyweight titlist removed his shirt and egged the crowd on as he flexed and posed for pictures.

Noticeably slimmer, Fury’s weight officially checked in at 264 pounds, also his lightest since 2019. The customary stare-down moments after was a bizarre one. Fury towered over his much shorter opponent, opened his eyes up wide, stood on his tippy toes, and attempted to intimidate his man.

Whyte though, simply smiled as he jokingly cowered in fear. Following years of what he believes was unfair judgment, the 34-year-old contender is anxious for his first world title opportunity.

After putting his brutal loss at the hands of Anthony Joshua behind him, Whyte has been on a roll, winning 12 of his 13 bouts. In his lone defeat, a sudden fifth-round knockout against Alexander Povetkin, Whyte dusted himself and righted the ship, stopping the former interim heavyweight titlist in the fourth round of their immediate rematch.

Although Fury has earned universal praise as the best heavyweight in the world, the longtime champion believes he’s reached the end of his journey. In his mind, once he goes on to savagely stop Whyte at Wembley Stadium in what’s expected to be a crowd of nearly 100,000, he’ll hang up his gloves for good. However, despite his retirement talk, his father, John Fury, has stated on numerous occasions that he simply isn’t buying it.

Posted on 04/20/2022

by John “Gutterdandy” Walker

MTK Global boxing promotions has shut down for good, due to its ties to alleged mob boss Daniel Kinahan. Kinahan, who is currently on the run from law enforcement, is an ex-advisor and former close confidante of WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury (31-0-1, 22 KOs), who makes his second title defense in London this coming Saturday night against fellow Brit Dillian “The Body Snatcher” Whyte (28-2, 19 KOs) at Wembley Arena in the UK.

The lead-up to the Fury-Whyte bout has been haunted by the troubles of the reputed cartel boss Kinahan, whose organization has been accused of selling large quantities of South American cocaine across the globe. Until very recently, Tyson Fury had nothing but praise for Kinahan, and had posted a picture online of the two men engaged in a chummy pose in Dubai last February.

A statement issued by MTK Global reads:

“It is a matter of public record that Mr Kinahan’s involvement in MTK ceased in 2017, and despite repeated reassurances in this regard, unfounded allegations about his ongoing association with us and our fighters persist.

“Since leading promoters have now informed us that they will be severing all ties with MTK and will no longer work with our fighters, we have taken the difficult decision to cease operations at the end of this month.

“MTK prospered because we always put the long term interests of our fighters at the heart of what we do.

“Our priority in the weeks ahead will be to ensure that our world class boxers are supported to find new partnerships as swiftly as possible.

“MTK gyms are operated independently so will remain open for the foreseeable future.

“Further announcements will be made in due course. Thank you to all the fans who have supported us over the last decade.”

Tyson Fury has seemed irritated this week when the topic of Kinahan has been raised, though it must be said that most of the professional boxing media has preferred to avoid the subject, instead sticking to rote questions about training camps instead. Fury has chosen to stick to a stock response about “minding his own business” to try and deflect from his former close ties to Kinahan.

“Because I had my picture taken with a man it doesn’t make me a criminal,” Fury said.

The WBC champion added, ” “I’ve got nothing to hide. The only time I’ve ever broken the law was when I got a speeding ticket.”

That last statement would seem to be at odds with Fury’s admissions of rampant cocaine abuse, back when he claimed to have mental health issues while twice avoiding rematches with former unified heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko of Ukraine. Fury ended Wlad’s decade-long title reign with a scrappy decision win late in 2015.

This week, with the allegations against Kinahan forming a constant looming backdrop to the upcoming fight, Fury has doubled down on his vow to retire from boxing after the Whyte bout, win, lose or draw.

Until very recently, however, Fury had spoken of enjoying his life as a “fighting man” and had submitted a list of five fights he wanted in the future, a list that notably did not include the unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk of Ukraine but did include men he has beaten multiple times, such as Deontay Wilder and Dereck “WAR” Chisora.

During a press conference via Zoom last week, however, Fury seemed to be backing away from retirement, only to double down on his vow to quit boxing forever in the last two days.

Contrary to what he said in March, when he talked about wanting to live the fast life of a Miami jet setter, Fury now claims he has no interest in money, and that he seeks a very quiet life of taking out the garbage and doing other familial activities and chores, far away from the glare of the media spotlight.

“I just want to be left alone, I don’t want to be tortured by people,” Fury explained to UK boxing personality Adam Smith in a recent interview.

“I’m here to do this one last fight, and that’s me, I’m out.”

“Goodbye forever.”

Posted on 04/14/2022

by John “Gutterdandy” Walker

The strange atmosphere surrounding the upcoming title fight between undefeated WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and challenger Dillian Whyte, both of the UK, got even stranger when the two fighters appeared, though not together, at a press conference Thurdsay afternoon (April 14).

Fury has previously announced that this second defense of his WBC Heavyweight Title will be his final fight, that he is mentally finished with boxing, and after fighting Whyte will be ready to lead a life of decadent luxury as a very rich man.

Yet during the lead-up to his previous fight, Fury’s first defense of his WBC strap against American puncher and former champ Deontay Wilder, Fury was keen to tell the world that he is a “fighting man” who only truly feels at home in the ring. He indicated then that he would be fighting well into the future. That there was nothing else that he truly cared about outside of boxing and his family.

However, after defeating Wilder in a thrilling third meeting between the two men, Fury had a change of heart. After the list of five fights he desired in the future (a fourth fight with Wilder, and a third fight with gatekeeper Dereck Chisora among them) was met with derision–with current unified world heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk’s name conspicuously being left out–Fury’s attitude suddenly shifted. After facing mandatory challenger Dillian Whyte (who was knocked out cold on his feet by 40-year-old Alexander Povetkin of Russia a mere two fights back), Fury claimed he was out, done and dusted. Retiring.

So he said, anyway, though it’s probably true that few people in the boxing game took him very seriously.

Today’s press conference was a surprisingly dull affair, with the normally excitable and voluble Whyte, who has been silent and invisible during the fight’s lead-up, and the always talkative Fury making separate appearances via Zoom. Both boxers tended to stick to rote answers about having great training camps and being excited for their upcoming fight in the UK on April 23. With Fury and Whyte not sharing any air time, neither man could really get too worked up, and the questions asked by selected boxing journalists often left much to be desired.

For instance, the journalists picked to ask questions were careful to avoid the explosive topic of reputed Irish mob boss Daniel Kinahan, to whom Tyson Fury has been linked in recent reports in the mainstream press. Only one of the selected journalists brought up the topic of Fury’s impending retirement from boxing, and the question seemed to throw the WBC champ for a bit of a loop. Fury hemmed and hawed and ducked, quickly changing the topic to how well prepared he is for Whyte, and not mentioning retirement again.

“I’m only thinking about Dillian Whyte at this moment, I’m not thinking about retirement,” said Fury, blatantly contradicting earlier statements that this fight is it. “After the fight we’ll think about what is gonna happen and what the future holds for me.”

Another very interesting change of tune from Fury, who as recently as March 1 of this year proclaimed, “I’m retiring after this fight…I have no ambition after this fight, I’m done. No interest in anybody, retirement, baby! $100 million in the bank, undefeated champion.”

Fury said after Whyte, his life would resemble a movie star’s, no longer a fighting man, but a jet setter enjoying ““Miami, boats, Ferraris, Lambos.”

Today, however, he suddenly sounded unsure. Perhaps the winner of the upcoming rematch between Usyk and Anthony Joshua, who Fury had planned a mega-fight against before Usyk upset A.J., will help determine the fighter’s future. The WBC champ has so far shown very little interest in taking on the undefeated Ukrainian cruiser and heavyweight boxing master, who recently fought for his country against Russian invaders, and is now in Poland training for his contracted meeting with Joshua.

In a move that might impress Tom Brady, is Tyson Fury already un-retiring before he even officially retires?

Stay tuned.

Posted on 03/11/2022

By: Hans Themistode

Tyson Fury is talking a big game as his heavyweight showdown against Dillian Whyte draws near. Fury will officially put his WBC world title on the line against Whyte on April 23rd, at Wembley Stadium in the United Kingdom, in what’s expected to be a jam-packed crowd of over 100,000.

As of late, Fury has shown extreme confidence in his ability to put his opponents out of their misery well before the sound of the final bell. Although Fury has earned a few concussive knockouts recently, promoter Eddie Hearn refuses to look at him as some sort of big-time knockout artist.

“I don’t think that Tyson Fury is a big heavyweight puncher,” said Hearn to IFL TV. “If you list the top five, six guys in the division, he’s not up there in terms of his power. You look at his resume, whether it’s [Christian] Hammer, whether it’s [Dereck] Chisora, whether it’s [Wladimir] Klitschko, whether it’s [Otto] Wallin, he’s never been an explosive puncher.”

Despite Hearn casting a dubious look on Fury’s power, the undefeated heavyweight titlist not only became the first man to defeat Deontay Wilder, but the British native did so without the need of the judge’s scorecards. During the final bout of their three-part sequel, in particular, Fury battered Wilder around the ring. As a result, Wilder hit the deck in rounds three, ten, and 11 before succumbing to Fury’s power in the penultimate round.

Without being given much choice, Hearn acknowledges that it was a job well done by Fury. However, he doesn’t believe it was a singular blow that ended Wilder’s night.

“He stopped Deontay Wilder more with pressure and work rate. But I don’t think he’s a one-punch knockout specialist. I feel like Dillian Whyte is.”

In Whyte, while he’s shown an ability to stop opponents right in their tracks, he’s recorded only two knockout victories in his past six ring appearances. Nevertheless, most recently, Whyte placed his power on display against former heavyweight contender, Alexander Povetkin.

Whyte bounced back from a shocking defeat at the hands of Povetkin in August of 2020, to score his own knockout win against the former Russian star in March of 2021. More than just his ability to crack, Whyte has an innate willingness to bite down on his mouthpiece and fight when needed.

It’s those very characteristics, along with his power, in Hearn’s view, that will allow Whyte to carry on when the going gets tough against Fury.

“I see that fight going late. I don’t see Tyson Fury winning that fight early by stoppage. If it goes late, I favor Dillian Whyte. He’s going to dog him all night, he’s going to trade left hooks and I think he has a great one in my opinion.”

Posted on 02/22/2022

By: Hans Themistode

There are several in the boxing world who find the newly signed showdown between Dillian Whyte and Tyson Fury an intriguing one. Following weeks of negotiations, the pair will finally square off on April 23rd, in Wembley Stadium in the United Kingdom.

Although Whyte has aggregated wins against some of the heavyweight division’s best, including former champions, Joseph Parker, Lucas Browne, and former interim titlist Alexander Povetkin, Fury is viewed as a gargantuan favorite.

While most are expecting Fury to crush Whyte’s world title dreams, Dereck Chisora is going against the grain and choosing Whyte to pull off the unlikely upset.

“Dillian Whyte,” said Chisora to Behind The Gloves when asked who he expects to win. “He’s going to have to work hard to win. He wants it, he’s hungry.”

Fury, now 33, completed a brutal three-fight series with hard-hitting former titlist, Deontay Wilder. Fury peeled himself up off the deck during their October showdown in 2021, to ultimately stop Wilder in the 11th round.

The win for Fury may have been arguably the most impressive of his career, but Chisora believes it came at a devastating cost. Immediately following the first defense of his WBC crown, Fury was presented with life-changing money. With the British native reportedly making upwards of $30 million for their heavyweight clash and roughly $32 million to face Whyte, Chisora believes that the added income will be his undoing.

Having been involved in the pugilistic sport for a decade and a half, Chisora can only recall one fighter who pocketed a boatload of money and remained the same.

“When fighters make $20 to $40 million, they’re not hungry anymore,” continued Chisora. “There’s only one fighter that’s ever been hungry when he made $100 million and that was Floyd Mayweather. When fighters make all of this money, they’re not hungry anymore. They just do it for the sake of doing it. But when someone is hungry, like Dillian right now, he’s going to die in that ring.”

Chisora knows good and well how far Whyte is willing to push himself in order to secure a victory. In 2016 and 2018, Chisora engaged in a back and forth war with Whyte, falling short on both occasions. Chisora’s ring experience with Whyte has left him with a newfound respect for his rival, something he believes Fury lacks for his latest title challenger.

In totality, Chisora believes that Fury is normally locked in on the person standing in front of him. However, when asked if Fury is looking past Whyte, Chisora gave a succinct answer.

“He is.”

Posted on 01/21/2022

By: Hans Themistode

With the proliferation of current and former UFC fighters entering the sport of boxing, Francis Ngannou is very much interested in joining his MMA brethren.

On numerous occasions, the UFC heavyweight belt holder has exchanged verbal threats with WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. The British product has gone as far as to say that he would be willing to face Ngannou in a boxing ring while wearing UFC-style gloves. Considering their consistent verbal tirades, Ngannou is as motivated as ever to make their showdown a reality.

“Very much,” said Ngannou to Michael Bisping when asked if he was interested in facing Fury in the near future. “That will happen. In the past two years, Tyson Fury and I have been going back and forth on social media. It seems like he’s ready for that.”

Although Ngannou dreams of entering the squared circle and standing across the ring from Fury, he has business to attend to in the UFC’s octagon. Tomorrow night, the Cameroon native will look to defend his crown against interim champion Ciryl Gane. Presently, Ngannou finds himself a slight underdog in their upcoming showdown.

Should Ngannou pull out the victory, he’ll place even more attention on his future boxing ventures. Win or lose tomorrow night, Ngannou’s current UFC contract is set to expire. And while he has ultimately revealed that he would love to re-sign, Ngannou admitted that he refuses to do so unless his new UFC deal will allow him to partake in the boxing world as well.

If Ngannou’s wish is granted, he wouldn’t be willing to immediately face Fury as soon as possible. Though Ngannou is confident in his own abilities, he believes it would be foolish of him to jump into the ring against arguably the best heavyweight in the world so soon.

“For now, I’m working on my striking and on my boxing but I can’t count on that to go box a guy like Tyson Fury. This guy is an experienced boxing champion. You need to get the proper boxing training. It’s not a joke, he’s the real deal.”

Fury, 33, recently closed the door on his longtime rivalry with former heavyweight belt holder Deontay Wilder. Throughout the career of Wilder, the Alabama native has gained a reputation of being quite possibly the biggest puncher in the entire sport.

Despite Wilder registering knockout wins in 41 of his 45 career contests, however, Ngannou also has a penchant for brutalizing his competition. With five consecutive wins via stoppage, Ngannou didn’t hesitate when asked who is the heavier hitter between himself and Wilder.

“Me,” said Ngannou while chuckling. “We can try that.”

Posted on 01/03/2022

By: Hans Themistode

Luis Ortiz believed he had something to prove heading into his showdown against Charles Martin on the first day of the New Year. At the ripe old age of 42, Ortiz was steadfast in his belief that despite his age, his dream of becoming the first Cuban-born heavyweight champion was still within his grasp. However, as the two locked horns at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida, the hard-hitting contender was almost on the wrong end of a knockout loss.

While Ortiz sauntered to the middle of the ring with confidence, Martin, a former transient heavyweight champion, did the same. As the two began exchanging leather, it was Ortiz that hit the canvas in rounds one and four.

Although things appeared grim, Ortiz dug deep at the midway point of their showdown and rallied back. In the sixth round, in particular, the Cuban southpaw dropped his man after connecting on a strong right hand which led to a barrage of punches. Shortly after, Ortiz closed the show, finishing Martin later in the round.

The win for Ortiz was his second straight since coming up short in his bid to win a world title against Deontay Wilder. As Ortiz begins to sift through the names near the top of the division, he reveals that he would be interested in facing some of the more notable contenders. Or, in a perfect world, Ortiz would love to bypass them altogether and try his hand at another world title.

“I want to fight Andy Ruiz, I want to fight Dillian Whyte,” said Ortiz to ESNEWS. “[Tyson] Fury doesn’t have an opponent, I’m ready for anybody.”

Fury, 33, has spent the last two years concentrating on his rivalry with former heavyweight champion and Ortiz conqueror, Deontay Wilder. Although Fury credits Wilder for being the second-best heavyweight in the world, the Alabama native was unable to snag a victory from Fury during their back-to-back showdowns.

During their most recent contest on October 9th, late last year, Fury crawled back to his feet on two separate occasions to score the stoppage win in the 11th.

Since then, both Fury and his promoter Bob Arum revealed that the current WBC titlist could face either Robert Helenius or Andy Ruiz next. At the moment though, nothing is finalized, leaving Fury without an opponent for the time being.

Considering his come-from-behind victory, Ortiz would love nothing more than to share the ring with Fury and receive his third crack at heavyweight gold.

Posted on 01/02/2022

By: Hans Themistode

After putting together his best year as a pro, Frank Sanchez desperately wanted to kick off 2022 on the right foot.

The highly ranked heavyweight contender couldn’t have asked for a better start as he had an easy night at the office against late replacement Christian Hammer. The two clashed in the co-main event late last night at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida.

A determined Sanchez effortlessly boxed past his man, dropping him in the final few seconds before winning every round on all three judges’ scorecards. Although the Cuban native is appreciative of every opportunity that he’s been afforded, at the age of 29, he’s interested in facing the best of the best in the heavyweight division.

At the moment, WBC titlist Tyson Fury is regarded by many as the man to beat. With Fury solidifying his standing with back-to-back stoppage wins over the hard-hitting Deontay Wilder, the British native has garnered enormous praise from his promoter Bob Arum. The 90-year-old Hall of Famer has gone as far as to claim Fury as a better all-around fighter than iconic figures such as Muhammad Ali and George Foreman.

Still, even with Fury seemingly in a class of his own, Sanchez scoffs at the idea of Fury being a superior fighter to himself. And, if given the opportunity, Sanchez believes he’ll embarrassingly dethrone him.

“I knock him out easily,” said Sanchez during an interview with ESNEWS. “He has no boxing skills.”

While Fury is often viewed as the number one heavyweight in the world, newly crowned unified champion Oleksandr Usyk is believed to be in the mix as well.

Following a dominant run in the cruiserweight division, which resulted in an undisputed title reign, Usyk has gone on to prove that his skills translate well to the land of the big men. On September 25th, 2021, Usyk thoroughly outboxed Anthony Joshua to strip him of his WBA, WBO, and IBF heavyweight titles.

But while Usyk is now only one belt shy of becoming a two-division undisputed champion, Sanchez views a possible future showdown between them as a walk in the park.

“Even easier,” said Sanchez when asked if Usyk would be more difficult to deal with than Fury. “Usyk has movement but he doesn’t have the technique that I do.”

Posted on 10/14/2021

By: Hans Themistode

There was no doubt in the mind of Deontay Wilder that he would violently put an end to his rivalry with Tyson Fury. After sharing the ring with Fury on two separate occasions, the pair squared off one, and presumably final time, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on October 9th, in front of a jam-packed crowd.

Following an epic back and forth battle, Wilder was unavailable immediately after due to the Alabama native being rushed to the hospital to receive medical attention. With a long list of names to thank, Wilder started from the beginning.

“Wow, what a hell of a night,” said Wilder on his social media account. “I would like to first and foremost thank God for allowing me to give the world another part of me that’s driven with passion and determination. I would like to thank my team and my fans for sticking by my side through this long process.”

Wilder’s aforementioned drive and determination were on full display at T-Mobile Arena. After coming out strong in the opening round, Wilder appeared to be on his way to suffering yet another, early knockout defeat at the hands of Fury. The British native and current WBC heavyweight titlist floored Wilder in the third round.

While it wasn’t the start Wilder was looking for, he bounced back nicely in the following frame. The hard-hitting former titlist landed a straight right hand down the pike that sent Fury to the deck. Fury managed to crawl back to his feet but found himself looking up at the ceiling lights just a few seconds later.

Ultimately, the two would enjoy plenty of success throughout but it was Fury who stole the show at the end. With Wilder gasping for air and seemingly on an empty gas tank, Fury dropped his man in the tenth round before eventually finishing him off in the 11th.

Although the second loss of his career is now plastered to his record, Wilder has decided to view things in a positive light.

“I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t disappointed in the outcome. But, after reflecting on my journey, I now see that what God wanted me to experience is far greater than what I expected to happen. We didn’t get the win but a wise man once said the victories are within the lessons. I’ve learned that sometimes you have to lose to win. Hopefully, I proved that I am a true warrior and a true king in this sport.”

Having his hand raised in victory was the end goal for Wilder but even as he sauntered out of the ring in disappointment, he couldn’t help but notice the smiles on the faces of fans and the appreciation they exuded for the grueling battle he just endured.

“Although I wanted the win I enjoyed seeing the fans win even more.”

In a recent video clip, Fury was seen going to the corner of Wilder to shake his hand. However, Wilder can be heard stating “no love, I don’t respect you.”

Having had time to sit down and reflect on his rivalry with Fury, Wilder no longer appears surly with what has taken place. In the end, while Wilder may have appeared to have a genuine disdain and disgust for Fury, as he analyzes the incredible three battles they shared over the course of three years, he tips his cap in respect to Fury. In the end, the two will be intertwined in the boxing annals until the end of time.

“I would like to congratulate Tyson Fury for his victory and thank you for the great historical memories that will last forever.”