Tyson Fury talks big for British heavyweight showdown with John McDermott

Telegraph.co.uk Gareth A Davies11th September, 2009

If the tension between the pair at Thursday's weigh-in is a barometer of how much victory means to both men, boxing fans are in for a ding-dong battle for the English heavyweight title.

Fury, whose intent is to sledge opponents before contests, managed to prise from McDermott, a former apprentice bronze mould sculptor, responses which are unusual from this quiet man not often given to verbal excess.

Fury told Telegraph Sport on Thursday: "I enjoyed the chat at the weigh-in, I think I put him on his toes. I do enjoy a bit of psyching out with my opponents, it comes natural to me. I like the tension. I like to put people - my opponents - under pressure, I like being under pressure, because I get the best from myself for fights."

The contest has extra interest with both men's fathers - Stan McDermott and 'Gypsy' John Fury - having fought as heavyweights on the British scene in the 70s and 80s, though their careers never overlapped. Both are from traveller families, although the two protagonists, and their parents, have long since settled into conventional living.

Yet there is juice in this contest, live on Sky Sports tonight. McDermott, 29, with 25 wins and 5 losses has much greater experience, and will want to take the contest into the late rounds. Fury is the most talked-about heavyweight prospect in the UK at present, having demolished his first seven opponents, but is yet to go beyond four rounds. McDermott can box - and has shown great heart - notably in two points losses to Danny Williams, in the first of which Williams recovered from being out on his feet to earn a controversial majority decision.

For Fury, it is new ground. He faces a vastly more experienced boxer, at home, with partisan support. Fury explained: "I've got three or four hundred fans coming down. I don't really care to be honest. I could be fighting him in his back garden and the outcome would be the same. I'm happy to be the away fighter, I'm getting to showcase my skills on Sky instead of ITV, and hopefully the fans that go in there as McDermott fans will come out as Fury fans. It's a win-win for me."

Conversely, rival promoter Mick Hennessy has encouraged Fury to call out all his domestic rivals, and thus far, Fury has proved to be the heavy-handed, aggressive heavyweight he promises to be when he steps inside the ring.

"I've been working and sparring to go the full 10 rounds," Fury said. "I'm that fit I could go 15 at the moment. But I don't think it will be a 10-round job. I think he's quite ordinary. He's one-dimensional. One-two, jab, come forward. A basic, stand-up fighter."

McDermott's greater maturity and experience, on paper, should earn him a victory, yet if the 6ft 7ins puncher from Manchester delivers what he is promising, he will be a new name to be closely followed on the British heavyweight scene.

Fury insists that if he wins, he wants to move on quickly. The fighter with the whirlwind heavyweight names has no little ambition. He said: "I'd like to fight Danny Williams, for the British title, and if all goes to plan, perhaps fight for the Irish heavyweight title too, on the undercard of Bernard Dunne's world title fight in Dublin on Sept 26 [WBA super bantamweight world title defence]. I think Kevin McBride holds the Irish heavyweight title at the moment, but I believe he would relinquish it, so I would be fighting for the vacant title."

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