Tyson Fury's incredible pre-fight trick comes to light
Tyson Fury seemingly pulled out all the stops in his dominant seventh round TKO triumph against Deontay Wilder in Las Vegas.
The ‘Gypsy King’ dipped into his bag of tricks in an attempt to extract every advantage he could, in order to become the first boxer to defeat Wilder.
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Fury claimed he masturbated seven times a day to keep up his testosterone for the rematch, as well as dipping his hands in petrol to toughen up his knuckles.
However, Fury's greatest trick may have come in the lead-up to the weigh-in, where the 31-year-old tipped the scales at a whopping 19st 7lbs (123kg).
It was the second-heaviest weight the Brit had ever went into battle with, leading many observers to question his preparation for the fight.
Former trainer Ben Davison insists it was all part of Fury's plan, which was executed by drinking 16 pints (around 7.5 litres) of water before jumping on the scales.
It's more common to hear stories about fighters dehydrating themselves to shed weight - often with dangerous consequences.
However, it appears as though Fury did the opposite for his fight against Wilder, perhaps as a ruse to lull the American into a false sense of security.
“Personally, I believe that was a manufactured weight on the scales. I don’t believe he was that heavy," Davison said after Fury weighed in 1 stone (6kg) heavier than his first fight against Wilder.
“I believe that was part of the mind games going on. I know Tyson, I know his body and I do not believe he was that heavy – in fact I know he was not that heavy.
“I believe his morning weight was more in the region of 18st 8lbs, 18st 9lbs. And obviously throughout the day as you’re eating and drinking your weight will increase there.
“But I believe the weight he stopped on the scales at was manufactured weight all part of mind games – which he is the master of.”
Deontay Wilder blames loss on elaborate pre-fight costume
While many factors have been attributed to Wilder's defeat, the 34-year-old offered a bizzare explanation as to why he was so outclassed by Fury.
The American wanted to make his ring walk prior to his fight with Tyson Fury on Saturday special and wore a 40-pound costume as a tribute to Black History Month.
But Wilder said the costume was too heavy and was the reason that he didn’t have his legs under him in his seventh-round TKO loss.
He said he will go to Africa at the end of March on vacation and plans to exercise his rematch clause for a third fight with Fury, and that he’ll get back to boxing once he returns from Africa.
Wilder also said he is upset with assistant trainer Mark Breland for throwing in the towel to stop the fight and suggested that Breland will no longer be part of the team on fight night.
He said he was displeased with the work of referee Kenny Bayless, who took a point from Fury in the fifth round, and went out of his way to congratulate Fury on his performance.
Wilder said the reason he went with the outfit he did was to create a memorable night of entertainment for his fans, but it backfired on him.
“He didn’t hurt me at all, but the simple fact is ... that my uniform was way too heavy for me,” Wilder told Yahoo Sports by telephone.
“I didn’t have no legs from the beginning of the fight.
“In the third round, my legs were just shot all the way through.
“But I’m a warrior and people know that I’m a warrior.
“It could easily be told that I didn’t have legs or anything. A lot of people were telling me, ‘It looked like something was wrong with you.’
“Something was, but when you’re in the ring, you have to bluff a lot of things. I tried my best to do so. I knew I didn’t have the legs because of my uniform.”
With agencies