Will he be in good shape? Fury played Rocky Balboa, sparred with Thais and had fun

On April 11, a major night of professional boxing will take place at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England. The main event will be the return of former heavyweight champion Tyson Fury to the ring, where he will face Russian boxer Arslanbek Makhmudov.

This is not Fury’s first comeback after retirement. The Gypsy King has announced his retirement before, only to return every time — just as he is doing now. Of course, this is an important event for world boxing. Fury is one of the best heavyweights of his era, as well as a colorful and eccentric personality. Tyson knows how to put on a show not only in the ring, but outside of it as well, which is why fans love him.

However, Fury is now 37 years old, has not fought for more than a year, and it is unclear what kind of shape the Gypsy King will be in when he returns. Incidentally, Tyson’s father, John Fury, who has always been by his son’s side, strongly opposed Tyson’s return to the ring. Fury Sr. believes nothing good will come of it.

“I don’t think he’s in his best shape anymore. I’m a straightforward person — I say what I see. I love him, but too many people pat him on the back and lie to him, praising him as unbeatable. He is not unbeatable. My relationship with Tyson is ruined. Boxing ruined it completely,” John Fury said.

Tyson, however, has his own opinion on the matter. Interestingly, Fury himself says the idea of returning to the ring came to him by chance during a family vacation in Thailand.

“I had no intention of coming back. The sun brought me back. I felt so good that I thought: ‘I’ll just go to a training camp here, train here, and then book the fight.’ And that’s exactly what I did,” Fury said in an interview with Sky Sports.

Fury spent his entire training camp in Thailand with his family, but without his father. Thailand is generally not a popular destination for boxers; it is mostly mixed martial artists, kickboxers, and Muay Thai fighters who train and hold camps there. But Tyson would not be himself if he did not stand out in some way.

There were many unusual aspects to his training overall. Finding sparring partners in Thailand who could match the size of the 198-centimeter heavyweight was extremely difficult, so at first he trained with local fighters, which looked amusing because of the contrast. Later, of course, Fury’s team joined him, led by trainer SugarHill Steward, but Tyson’s father never took part in his son’s preparation.

The Briton’s main sparring partner was Joseph Parker, the former interim world champion. That also seemed a little odd: Parker, although a big man, is closer in size and style to Oleksandr Usyk than to Makhmudov, the opponent Tyson was preparing for.

Fury paid special attention to his legs during training, as his main advantage over Makhmudov is his speed and movement. Tyson often posted training videos in which he performed dumbbell squats or leg presses. Fury also worked hard on his conditioning by going on daily runs, which he turned into part of the show. Of course, Tyson ran through the city in true Rocky Balboa style, attracting the attention of locals, and sometimes even ran with a large stereo. Incidentally, the Gypsy King also borrowed Rocky’s famous running and squatting routine with a huge log, which looked quite funny.

But of course, there was also traditional training. Tyson could often be seen in the ring working the pads, or shadowboxing to improve his speed and movement. There were also classic sparring sessions and heavy bag workouts — in short, Tyson did not neglect his boxing training.

The entire training camp took place in high spirits: Fury joked around a lot, gave various interviews, and posted plenty of promotional content on social media. Some may think that is not the right way to prepare for a serious fight, but for Fury it is normal. There have been times when Tyson hardly prepared at all, such as before his fight with Francis Ngannou, and that nearly ended in disaster. This time, Fury completed a full training camp: yes, in Thailand, with small local sparring partners and unusual workouts, but Tyson still trained every day. Fury did not learn anything radically new or tailor himself specifically to his opponent; instead, he focused on his fitness and his strengths — and perhaps that is not the worst option for him.