Fury risking mandatory title shot

Bryn Lennon/Getty Images

Tyson Fury has promised to stop Christian Hammer when they meet Saturday in England.

Tyson Fury, the big (6-foot-9, 260 pounds) and brash British heavyweight contender, has a world title shot coming his way in the near future. He is the mandatory challenger for champion Wladimir Klitschko.

But rather than wait on that fight, which could take place as soon as this summer, Fury is putting his position at stake by taking on Christian Hammer on Saturday (BoxNation in the United Kingdom) at The O2 arena in London.

As usual, Fury (23-0, 17 KOs) is predicting a devastating performance in what should be his final fight before fighting for the world title — if he wins.

“I’ve had a great camp, training has gone very well, and because of that I don’t see this fight going beyond five rounds,” Fury said. “I want the knockout and that’s what I’m out to get. There’s a reason this bill is being labeled Risky Business, because of everything that is on the line. I’m mandatory to face Wladimir Klitschko next, but if I don’t win this fight I’ll lose that mandatory position and my chance to fight for the world title.

“We’ve seen fighters in the past who have been in a similar position and lost, but that’s not going to happen with me. The reason is because I’m not overlooking Christian Hammer. I’ve seen him in the amateurs and I’ve seen the progress he has made in the paid ranks. He’s a very good fighter and not someone you can overlook. But a Tyson Fury fight is never boring, and I can guarantee excitement and drama when I step in the ring. Put it this way: Someone is getting knocked out and it isn’t going to be me.”

Fury, 26, looked superb in his last outing, a one-sided 10th-round demolition of Dereck Chisora in their rematch. The victory in the world title elimination fight netted Fury the European title and also made him Klitschko’s mandatory challenger, although if Fury defeats Hammer and Bryant Jennings upsets Klitschko on April 25, Fury would be next up to face Jennings.

The 6-2, 250-pound Hammer (17-3, 10 KOs) is from Romania and lives in Germany, and he has not lost since 2010 and is riding a 10-fight winning streak. He believes he will upset Fury.

“Tyson Fury will not go the distance against me,” said Hammer, 27. “He will be getting knocked out clean and left to pick up the pieces after the fight. He cannot hurt me with his punches because I’m in the best shape of my career for this fight, and he will not last against me. He has been put down before. He can be hit and hurt. He has plenty of heart, but once I put him down he will stay down.

“I’ve taken this fight because I know I can get the Klitschko world title fight when I beat him. Klitschko is talking about fighting Fury, but he will be talking my name once I knock out Fury.”

Also on the card, Dmitry Chudinov (14-0-2, 9 KOs), 28, of Russia, will make the third defense of his interim middleweight belt when he faces Chris Eubank Jr. (18-1, 13 KOs), 25, of England.

http://espn.go.com/blog/dan-rafael/post/_/id/12050/fury-risking-mandatory-title-shot

Tyson Fury (right) was last in the ring for a dominant stoppage of domestic rival Dereck Chisora last November. Photo by Julian Finney / Getty Images

By:  Tom Gray –

When unbeaten British heavyweight Tyson Fury steps in the ring to face Christian Hammer in London this Saturday he’ll just be glad to have the work. Prior to defeating old foe Dereck Chisora in a rematch this past November, Fury had fought just once in 18 months.

“I thought I put on a spectacular performance against Chisora, “said the 26-year-old Fury, who is THE RING’s No. 3-rated heavyweight. “I fought southpaw most of the way, against the WBO number one contender, and barely took a punch. That’s never been done and I was fresh after 10 rounds.

“I could have fought like that all night long and was very impressed with my showing after all the inactivity.”

The 27-year-old Hammer (17-3, 10 knockouts) is a Germany-based Romanian who has some skills, but he hasn’t mixed with anything resembling Fury. A dominant win over American veteran Kevin Johnson was a good result but the British star is unimpressed, both with his pending opponent and the division itself.

Fury said, “Hammer has decent footwork and he punches well in combination but a good stiff hook to the jaw will sort that out. I want to stay busy and I’m looking forward to getting back in there, but I’m not really bothered about any of these heavyweights at the moment.

“I want to fight because that’s what I get paid for.”

Fury’s rematch with Chisora was billed as an eliminator for the WBO title, which is currently held by THE RING champion Wladimir Klitschko. The very mention of the legendary Ukrainian, who faces Bryant Jennings on April 25 in New York, changes the mood perceptibly.

“Klitschko won’t fight me – ever,” said Fury with rippling frustration. “He’ll vacate the WBO title because it’s game over for him if we do get it on. I expect Wladimir to fight someone else, after he beats Jennings, which means the WBO will strip him and I’ll be fighting for a vacant title.

“When he vacates that belt, everyone will know who the real champion is because Klitschko would rather step down than face me. I’ll take Wladimir out, he knows it and I know it. People will start to believe he’s been avoiding me when he dumps that belt.”

Fury, a natural salesman, brightens up at the very mention of unbeaten WBC title holder Deontay Wilder, who defeated Bermane Stiverne last month. A matchup between the two would be a money spinner and the Englishman has been eyeing up the Anglo American confrontation for a long time.

“Wilder has a good team behind him and they’re making the right moves,” said Fury (23-0, 17 KOs). “I don’t expect them to come after me immediately because they’ll want to make some cash first. Don’t get me wrong, I’m the biggest money fight out there for him but I’m also the biggest risk.

“The thing is, when we do fight, it will be a box office smash. Both of us are young, colorful, unbeaten and we’re crazy. It’s also USA versus UK, which hasn’t happened in a long time. We’ve spoken before and I told him this day would come and he agreed. The hype started as soon as he beat Stiverne.

Fury continued, “The buildup would be as good as the fight, and someone would be getting knocked clean out. If Wilder stops a couple of mediocre opponents then they’re likely to make him a pay-per-view star in the States and then we’re talking about really big dollars.”

The prevailing thought is that 2015 will be the year when Tyson Fury gets his long awaited shot at glory and the timing could be perfect for fight fans. Whether the 6ft 10in colossus tackles the vast experience and calculated skills of Klitschko or the high voltage punching power of Wilder remains to be seen, but either match would be sizzling.

Is Christian Hammer a potential banana skin?

Fury said, “To be honest, Hammer is a decent European-level fighter but I’m planning on putting my fist straight through him. As soon as I hit him properly he’s gone.”

http://ringtv.craveonline.com/news/382033-fury-says-hammer-not-in-his-class-still-targets-klitschko-and-wilder

Christian Hammer (left) lands a left to Remigijus Ziausys during their six-round heavyweight bout at the Boerdelandhalle on Jan. 9, 2010 in Magdeburg, Germany. Hammer won a unanimous decision. Photo by Joern Pollex/Bongarts/Getty Images

Romanian heavyweight Christian Hammer insists he has the weapons and power to become the first man to defeat British contender Tyson Fury when they meet this Saturday, at the O2 Arena in London, England.

Germany-resident Hammer (17-3, 10 knockouts) believes Fury (23-0, 17 KOs) has made a major mistake taking him on ahead of a potential title shot at THE RING heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko. Indeed, he is warning that Manchester-man Fury, the WBO’s No. 1 contender, will see his dreams of ruling the division smashed to smithereens at the weekend.

“It’s show time on Saturday night! I’m here in London, nice and early, to finish my training and everything has gone perfect in camp,” said Hammer, who is on a 10-fight winning streak. “Tyson Fury will not go the distance against me. He will be getting knocked out clean and left to pick up the pieces after the fight.

“He cannot hurt me with his punches because I’m in the best shape of my career for this fight and he will not last against me.”

Hammer suspects 26-year-old Fury, having been dropped on several occasions during his unblemished career, is vulnerable against someone with his type of heavy punching ability. And he has also stated that, after taking care of RING No. 3-rated Fury, he will be the one lining up against all-conquering Klitschko, the IBF, WBO and WBA holder.

“Fury has been put down before – he can be hit and hurt,” said Hammer, 27, who fights out of Hamburg. “Fury has plenty of heart, but once I put him down he will stay down.

“I’ve taken this fight because I know I can get the Klitschko world title fight when I beat Fury. Klitschko is talking about fighting Fury – but he will be talking my name once I knockout Fury.”

http://ringtv.craveonline.com/news/382021-christian-hammer-says-tyson-fury-will-not-last-the-distance

By Peter Fury –

Sparring began for real on Monday and it was great to see Tyson and Hughie get put through their paces by a number of quality heavyweights. For this particular camp we’ve got Kevin Johnson, the American heavyweight due to fight Anthony Joshua in April, as well as Marcin Rekowski, who is 15-1, and Sean ‘Sexy’ Turner from Dublin. It’s a nice mix of experience and youth. We’ve had Kevin twice in camp now and it’s always good to have him around. He’s a good lad, Kevin, and he’s the ultimate professional. He does his job properly. When he’s got the bit between his teeth and has a big fight coming up, you get good work out of him. He does what he needs to do and is ideal for what we need.

Not everybody is, though. The likes of Johnson come back to us because they like what they see, we’re fair with them and they want to return. The ones who don’t come back, however, are the ones who come over and don’t perform in sparring. They don’t give me what I want. Some of them come over and think they’re just getting an easy payday. They do the bare minimum and expect that to be enough. Then comes the reality check. We soon get rid of them.

Sparring, I believe, is majorly important to a fighter’s development. You have to have it because it helps detect any mistakes and flaws. You’ll quickly pick up on and work on mistakes if a boxer is being punished by a sparring partner every time he makes one. Sparring puts boxers under pressure. They’re getting punched back and they’re simulating a fight.

Also, when you have sparring partners they’re not used to, and you then rotate them – in and out – it’s a different ball game. It’s impossible for Tyson and Hughie to get accustomed to any one style. Just when they think they’ve sussed one of the sparring partners, he’ll jump out and another one will jump in. It teaches them to be adjustable and to develop not just one way of fighting but a variety of ways of fighting.

Typically, I’ll have a sparring partner do no more than one round at a time. Johnson, for example, will do a round and will then be replaced by Rekwoski. After Rekowski’s done a round, he’ll be replaced by Turner and so on. I find it keeps them fresh if I’m only giving them a round at a time. They know they can give their maximum effort for that one round and then refresh afterwards ready for the next round we need from them.

Tyson and Hughie, during these sessions, will simply work on what they’re being told. It’s almost as if the opponent in front of them doesn’t exist. They’ll just go through the motions and work on what they need to work on. They’ll work on their flaws. If we’re looking to work a certain style, they’ll practice that and make the mistakes in sparring rather than on fight night itself. They’re just working on their game plan. It’s not about getting the better of the sparring partner or beating them up. That doesn’t prove anything at this stage. They have no interest in that. They’re simply focused on working towards fight night.

All in all, I’ll look for Tyson and Hughie to spar five days a week and they’ll do ten rounds each. It’s enough.

For Hughie, in particular, this camp is vital. Hughie is in a big fight and he’s right up there now and ready to go in with the big boys. He’s always done full-on sparring, to be fair, so this is nothing new to him. The only things that have hampered Hughie in the past have been health issues.

But now he’s back to full strength and he’s going okay so far. So far, so good. He doesn’t have a problem being thrown into hard sparring. He can mix it with the best. He’s shown that in previous camps; anybody who has shared the ring with him knows how good Hughie Fury is…

***

Hughie Fury fights dangerman Andriy Rudenko over ten rounds on February 21 in Monte Carlo, televised by Channel 5. Meanwhile, Tyson Fury defends his WBO International heavyweight title against Christian Hammer on February 28 at the O2 Arena, live on BoxNation

http://www.fightnews.com/Boxing/peter-furys-training-camp-diary-278074#more-278074