A press conference took place at the Wembley Arena in London early yesterday afternoon for the long awaited showdown between Dereck Chisora and Tyson Fury for the British and Commonwealth titles, taking place on July 23rd at the same site, and this writer experienced a couple of surprises!
Dereck Chisora was the first to arrive, along with Frank Warren, perhaps the country’s most well known promoter. In fact, he arrived quite in advance of his foe, and looked quite relaxed. You could sense the excitement among the atmosphere within the ‘press’ as people awaited the entrance of 6’9 Tyson Fury.
Since the conference took place on the second floor of the arena, everybody in the conference room could hear some excited commotion down stairs, and people knew what it was about! Then, the hulking figure of Tyson Fury began his ascent, wearing sunglasses and a suit. To everybody’s amazement, Fury bought along with him some friends…..two dwarfs! Tyson humorously stated that he bought them along for his own protection, and they were also wearing the same smart black and white suit that their much taller ally was wearing. Chisora, wearing sunglasses himself, looked unimpressed by the whole charade and attempted to make no eye contact with Fury at all, even throughout the whole conference!
Fury largely dominated the war of words between himself and his opponent. At one point, Fury even tried to goad Frank Warren into an argument, something the experienced businessman was going to have none of when Fury tried to tell Frank that he made a bad business move when he agreed for his charge to fight him. Heavyweight boxing legends such as Henry Cooper and Muhammad Ali were bought into the discussion, as well as talk of the prestigious Lonsdale belt.
When time was up, Chisora, Warren and members of his team immediately left the table to head for the exit, with the current British and Commonwealth belts holder refusing to do interviews afterward. Fury stuck around for a short while to sign autographs and pose for pictures, especially with his two little friends.
All in all, it was a very entertaining afternoon, and it did it’s job perfectly to get everybody excited for July 23rd, not that the British heavyweight titanic battle needed to!
Press conference quotes:
Mick Hennessy: “For me, this is the best dust up since Lennox Lewis fought Frank Bruno. It has the ingredients to be an absolute barn stormer! You’ve got two young and hungry undefeated heavyweights who who can both bang. These are fights that the fans want to see. On Saturday, 23rd July we will find out who is world class out of these two.”
Tyson Fury: “You are going to get knocked out! That’s what everyone expects. It’s going to be a really exciting contest while it lasts. I hope he comes to fight me because I’m definetely coming to fight. I’m looking forward to getting the British title. Everything I’ve done in my life has been leading up to this. I’m not going to let it slip. With Dereck Chisora it’s all about money. I’d fight for nothing if it all came down to it. The Lonsdale belt means more to me than three million pound in cash. Whatever it takes to win, I will do. People say that Tyson Fury can’t box, but I can. I’m the better man in every department. If you beat me then I have no use for money, you can have it. I’m going to smash him all over the ring.”
Dereck Chisora: “It’s going be a good fight. The arena’s only next to my house. It’s going to be the best fight in British boxing history. I can’t wait. Come July 23rd, I know what I have to do. I must be a sitting duck if he thinks he’s going to destroy me. Fury’s got no heart. If I beat you,Tyson, I want you to donate your purse to charity.”
Don Charles (trainer of Chisora): “You always have to have a strategy to win. We’ve got a strategy and you’ll find out on the night!”
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