John Fury has publicly opposed his son’s planned return to boxing, revealing a breakdown in communication and warning that outside influences and poor preparation could damage the former heavyweight champion’s legacy.
Speaking exclusively to Daily Mail Sport at Monday’s press conference for Tyson Fury‘s comeback fight against Arslanbek Makhmudov, John said he does not support the decision to come out of retirement and believes his long-standing role in his son’s career is being deliberately diminished by others inside the camp.
The interview came after Tyson told Daily Mail Sport earlier in the day that his father had stopped speaking to him for a period of time after learning of the comeback plans. John confirmed there has been distance between them and said attempts to intervene have gone unheard.
He said: ‘I’m still not happy about his decision to return to the ring. He’s done he’s done what he’s up to do in his career. Two time heavyweight champion of the world, made plenty of money. He’s nothing to prove to nobody, and yet he’s here again. Don’t know what it’s about. I really don’t but he needs to stop.
‘I’ve been saying this for the last four years, but it’s falling on deaf ears. All I can say is, it’s an addiction. Once you’ve been in the spotlight for so many years you crave it. Then, all of a sudden your phone stops ringing, the people stop patting you on the back, the cheers and the noise dies down. Some people can’t handle it, and he’s obviously one of those people that can’t.
John Fury has publicly opposed his son’s planned return to boxing, revealing a breakdown in communication and warning that outside influences could damage Tyson Fury’s legacy
John Fury pictured with Tyson Fury ahead of his press conference with Arslanbek Makhmudov
Fury is pictured with wife Paris and their large family. The couple have seven children
‘The Gypsy King has taken him over completely. He is the Gypsy King. Tyson Fury got lost a few years ago on the road somewhere. This man’s a Gypsy King, the entertainer, the fighter. He’s a part time family man because this is his love. Boxing is his first and foremost. The fight game is the love of his life. He’s proven it because he don’t need to do these things.’
John said he has tried to sit down and talk through his concerns about the comeback but believes his voice is being crowded out by others involved in the set-up.
‘I don’t think he listens to me because of the people around him. I just think there have been that many people in his ear about me – his father – this, that and the other,’ he said. ‘People sort of disrespecting me. If you get told enough times, ‘your father’s this, your father’s that,’ you start believing it.’
He added: ‘If it wasn’t for me, wouldn’t even be alive, you know? And I’ve looked after him from being a pup. These people haven’t. They’ve all moved into a ready made meal ticket, and here’s me. I’ve not got a crumb from nowhere, nothing, so all the need is to have respect put on my name. If nobody’s gonna put it on it, I’ll get it myself, because I’m capable of doing that. I fear no one.’
Despite his opposition to the return, John stopped short of predicting outright failure, instead questioning whether training form will translate under fight-night conditions and suggesting the public will ultimately decide.
‘Tyson’s not a stupid man. He knows where he’s at. He feels good in training, but in training is one thing. In the ring, under the lights is another. All we can do is wait and see he’s going to do. So let’s just enjoy. There is one thing we know, and that’s the fact the fans are going to pay and they are going to be entertained.’
He also set out in detail the physical condition he expects to see if his son is to compete at the level required against a dangerous heavyweight opponent, making clear he does not want to see a lightly prepared version of the former champion.
‘I want to see him coming in against this man with a pair of shoulders – big, solid, muscled up for him,’ he said. ‘I don’t want to see a thin, fat guy who’s done a bit of skipping and some bag work. I want to see a guy who’s worked like an animal. When he gets in that ring, I want people saying, ‘Hang on, whoa, look at this guy.’
John said he believes his presence in camp and on fight night would benefit his son, but indicated he does not expect to be involved in either.
The Gypsy King will take on Makhmudov at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on April 11
Fury is adamant he didn’t lose to Oleksandr Usyk and described the Ukrainian as a ‘cheat’
‘Will I be in Thailand for camp? Probably not. Because someone. The idiot will step in for a paycheck and he’ll give him one.’
He reiterated his view that his influence and his independence are precisely why he has been sidelined.
‘I’m the key to his career,’ he said. ‘And people know that. That’s why they want me out of the way. You know what I’m saying. I only want the best for him.’
Expanding on that theme, he drew a sharp distinction between family loyalty and paid advisers, arguing that fear of losing their positions prevents others from pushing the fighter hard enough.
‘Look, he is where he is in his career through having other people guide him and mess with him. When you lose loyalty towards your family, who know you better than anybody and you put your trust in total strangers it’s always bad. That is the outcome of it.Â
‘I love my son. I would do everything for free but the others won’t. They want paying and they’ll never get the best out of him because they are frightened to crack the whip incase he sacks them.Â
John wants to see his son turn up to fight night with a ‘big pair of shoulders’ and muscledÂ
The Gypsy King is still adamant he is in the past form of his life despite his retirement lay off
‘Me? I’m not getting sacked. I don’t give a s***. I have never wanted anything from him, I could live in a shed or live in Buckingham Palace. I don’t care. And you know what they say, men that don’t want nothing can’t be bought.Â
‘So, I will tell you the truth, son, you are wasting your time. Same old, same old. Change it up. If you don’t want to work with me. Get somebody qualified, because the last three times, has been diabolical.’