“Boxing Tonight” is i‘s weekly look ahead to the Saturday night action in the UK and beyond, with the details on how to watch and what to look out for
The tiny gold lettering stitched into the pinstripes of Tyson Fury’s suit might hold a clue as to why the WBC heavyweight champion is so adamant he will retire as soon as he has knocked out Dillian Whyte.
“Lineal champion”. This belt is all that has mattered to Fury, from the moment it was seized from Deontay Wilder. It might explain too, why he no longer seems to hold much interest in unifying the division against the winner of Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua’s rematch.
His journey, from the lowest depths to the top of the world, was completed in Las Vegas. This is about retaining the title graced by Muhammad Ali and his namesake and inspiration Mike but most of all, it is about coming home.
Whyte’s own story is less familiar to millions, but it has pushed the stakes equally high. “It will mean everything to me,” he says. “I am a guy who as a kid, had no future, no education, no family. I am a survivor. I have been on the streets since I was a child.”
The “Body Snatcher” moved to the UK from Jamaica, aged 12, and became a father – one of the country’s youngest on record – a year later. He has been shot, stabbed and once recalled how he had picked a bullet out of his body with a pair of pliers.
Fury has never been without struggle; Whyte has been close hand to witness it, a former sparring partner who has faced some of the same trials – namely a drugs ban that was overturned – and who has known the family for years. While the Furys are a dynasty, Whyte stresses he is a one-man band.
“I have come from nothing. I had no backing, no support and I didn’t even go to school, so I did not do sports at school.
“For someone like me to come from where I have come from and to be world heavyweight champion of the world, that is true inspiration. That is real inspiration. Not someone who has come from a boxing family, or someone who has gone to the Olympics and been in the Olympic bubble.
“I was a thug on the street who could knock people out and I decided I can’t afford to go to jail so I need to do something else.”
Both have been shaped by their pasts. For Fury, and the rest of the MTK stable which folded this week in light of the US government’s case against boxing promoter, advisor and the company’s co-founder Daniel Kinahan, the present is equally troubling.
The difference in their rhetoric, justifiably, is that Whyte will not “go around and say I am the greatest”. What he brings is “a lot of pain and frustration”.
His adversary makes no such statements. Fury is the greatest heavyweight around, the great entertainer, and a once-in-a-generation personality worthy of a place in history, even if we will never know how he might have fared in more competitive eras.
On Saturday – apparently – it all ends. Nobody believes a word of these retirement plans. Fury says he will “go out with a bang” and then “sit back and enjoy life”.
Perhaps that is a reminder that both have earned it. “Like Tyson said, we didn’t expect to be here – me especially,” says Whyte. “But I’m ready to go. You ain’t gonna hear no bulls___ from me. I’m ready to rock and roll.”
Fury vs Whyte details
Date: Saturday 23 April
Venue: Wembley Stadium
Fight time: Ring walks for the main event are expected around 10pm UK time
TV/live stream: BT Sport Box Office (£24.95; BT channel 494, Sky 490. You can also watch on the BT Sport app via mobile or tablet, via the BT Sport Box Office website for Mac or PC and on Chromecast or Airplay for the big screen
Undercard highlights: Isaac Lowe is a lifelong friend of the Furys and he takes on Nick Ball, while Tommy Fury is also in action against Daniel Bocianski – his first opponent with a positive record
i predicts: Whyte shouldn’t be underestimated and he has a puncher’s chance, but we’re backing Fury to win by KO in rounds 6-8.
Full undercard
Note that Anthony Cacace’s fight with Jonathan Romero, which was supposed to be the final fight before the main event, is off.
Isaac Lowe vs Nick Ball
Tommy Fury vs Daniel Bocianski
Anthony Cacace vs Jonathan Romero
David Adeleye vs Chris Healey
Karol Itauma vs Michal Ciach
Royston Barney-Smith vs Jahfieus Faure
Kurt Walker vs Stefan Nicolae