By: Sean Crose
Tyson Fury appeared on the Rich Eisen Show to talk about his upcoming bout with Tom Schwarz at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on June 15th. The colorful Fury also spoke of getting up from “the shot” last December and, of course, Andy Ruiz’ recent stunning defeat of Anthony Joshua for Joshua’s numerous heavyweight title belts. Fury, who draws attention by nature, showed up to the interview wearing an “LA style pimp shirt” and shorts which were “pink to make the girls wink.” Although few have heard of Schwarz, Fury made it clear he isn’t going to underestimate his foe. “I never overlook my opponent,” he said.
The fighter also took a moment to sell the bout. “This guy must have a point to prove,” Fury claimed of Schwarz. “This is a big rivalry, Germany versus England…may the best man win.” The fighter made a rather odd statement concerning the match’s outcome. “We never can tell, can we?” he asked Eisen rhetorically. One of the interesting things about the Englishman is that he possesses a keen ability to look at matters through a unique perspective. This was certainly the case when the subject of Joshua came up during the conversation.
After declaring he wanted to “leave him (Joshua) with a little bit of dignity,” Eisen mentioned the fact that Fury had previously gone from treating Joshua’s defeat with true sportsmanship, to suddenly changing gears before the media. “Psychological warfare,” Fury responded, “you build them up then you smash them down.” Fury then indicated that he had given the matter some thought. “If it was me and I got knocked out by an old, fat guy, they (Joshua and his promoter, Eddie Hearn) would destroy me.” Moving on to Joshua himself, Fury claimed that “bodybuilding ain’t boxing.”
“Stick to your own sport and leave the fighting to the fighting men,” Fury continued, adding that Joshua “didn’t want to continue” in his battle with Ruiz. The widely regarded lineal heavyweight champion of the world then sought to separate himself from Joshua. “If there’s an ounce of breath left in my body…then I’ll continue to fight on,” said Fury. “At the end of the day, it’s the fight in the person.” Although his words for Joshua may have come across as harsh, Fury had nothing but good to say about Andy Ruiz. “I thought Andy Ruiz win was amazing,” he said. “I’m absolutely over the moon for Andy. Couldn’t have happened to a nice guy.”