Sports fans in the United States and many other countries had only just gotten to know talkative British boxer Tyson Fury before he fell off the radar a couple of years ago. However, after not fighting since his stunning 2015 upset of Wladimir Klitschko, Fury is set to return to the ring next month, and not a moment too soon to liven up the heavyweight ranks.
The 29-year-old Fury (25-0, 18 KOs) will take on Albania’s Sefer Seferia (23-1, 0 KOs) on June 9 in his hometown of Manchester. The 39-year-old cruiserweight shouldn’t pose too much of a problem to his much larger opponent, and if a couple of fights later in the year go well for Fury, he could be in line for a lucrative 2019 showdown against Anthony Joshua, the IBF, WBA (Super) and WBO heavyweight champion who is also from England.
Tyson Fury during the press conference announcing his return to the sport. Photo: Reuters
“Me against him will be the biggest fight ever, the Achilles and Hector of today,” Fury said Sunday. Joshua won two of his titles in his own defeat of Klitschko in 2016, after Fury vacated them in the wake of failed drug tests and reports of battles with personal issues.
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“In November 2015, I became the best heavyweight fighter in my era at the time,” Fury said last month, referring to his defeat of Klitschko. “That was the end of it for me. It took over two and a half years to get that fire back. I didn’t think it was coming.
“I thought, ‘What is going on?’ Every time I went to the pub and had 10 pints, I thought ‘Yeah, I want to fight tonight.’ But in hindsight, I needed to get out of that environment, get away from all that, get my head back and get focused.”
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Fury now has a new trainer, Ben Davison, after he parted ways with his uncle, Peter Fury, and a new promoter, Frank Warren, who said on Sunday his fighter was “in fantastic shape and full of beans, ready to take the first step on the road back toward world domination once again.” Warren added, “He needs comeback fights in order to shake off the ring rust after such a lengthy absence, and I am sure the fans will once again enjoy the ride back to the top.”
Tyson Fury during the press conference. Photo: Reuters
“I can’t wait to get in there and prove that I’m a better fighter than I’ve ever been,” said Fury. “I’m coming into the prime of my career now and I’ve never felt better. I’m fitter, stronger and faster than the Fury of 2015.”
