Fury slams Klitschko

WBO, WBA super and IBO world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury has claimed that 'you can't teach an old dog new tricks' ahead of his rematch with Wladimir Klitschko.
Tyson Fury gives the thumbs up during his press conferenceTyson Fury gives the thumbs up during his press conference
Tyson Fury gives the thumbs up during his press conference

The 27-year-old, who dethroned the Ukrainian in November at the ESPRIT Arena in Dusseldorf, Germany, believes his opponent will be just as inactive and unambitious when the pair square up again for “Repeat or Revenge” on July 9th.

Fury, who resides in Morecambe, accused Klitschko of being too long in the tooth to alter his style at this stage of a career that has spanned almost two decades, adding that the 23 title defences that he made previously came against challengers that showed no desire to compete.

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Having had his arm held aloft in their first meeting via a unanimous decision, with ringside judges Cesar Ramos and Raul Caiz Snr scoring the contest 115-112 while Ramon Cerdan added 116-111, Fury said: “He got beat the first time fair and square in Germany, on his own turf, with all his own stuff in front of all his own people and his own TV station, and he got whooped.

Tyson Fury gives the thumbs up during his press conferenceTyson Fury gives the thumbs up during his press conference
Tyson Fury gives the thumbs up during his press conference

“He’ll have to come at me 1,000 times better because he must’ve landed about four shots in 12 rounds. If a super champion can’t land, what type of super champion is he?”

“Wlad didn’t take any chances in Germany so if a man doesn’t come to fight and throw punches, how can I counter him and knock him out? He knew not to throw too many shots. He didn’t want to take the risks.

“I was the challenger and he didn’t want to hold on to his belts really because I didn’t see him in round 10, 11 or 12 coming out swinging. He came out jabbing and grabbing. He held me for 60% of the full fight. Let’s hope when he comes to England he’ll take a risk.”

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Fury alluded to boxing’s past to make his point about a stagnant Klitschko, stating that Larry Holmes was unable to adapt to take on Michael Spinks in their second meeting for the IBF World heavyweight title in Las Vegas in 1986.

Tyson Fury gives the thumbs up during his press conferenceTyson Fury gives the thumbs up during his press conference
Tyson Fury gives the thumbs up during his press conference

However, should the 40-year-old respond to his critics Fury feels that it will play in to his hands and may lead to a knockout victory on this occasion.

“Did Larry Holmes change his style at 36 when he lost his titles to Michael Spinks the first time?,” said Fury. “He didn’t change his style because he couldn’t. He was only ever going to do the same thing. So if the great Larry Holmes can’t do it, how can the great Klitschko do it? It’s impossible. You can’t teach old dogs new tricks. It’s simple.

“It would most definitely play in to my hands if he came to fight because Wladimir is not a fighter. He’s a manufactured, built up boxer. When you’ve got a manufactured boxer in against a natural fighter like me, he can’t change his style.

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“If he wants to come and have a dog fight with me in the middle of the ring then he’s asking the right man to do that. I highly doubt it’ll happen. He could come and give it his last ‘hurrah’ though and have a few swings hoping that I’ll take one and go over. If that does happen and he gives it a go for a few rounds I’ll just chin him. He can’t land any punches so if he tries to over-extend himself I’ll knock him out.”

Fury added: “The reason why he was so victorious in 11 years is because he never fought anybody who would fight back. He always fought men who didn’t want to win. But when Team Fury balled through the doors in Germany he knew that he couldn’t get away with it. The outcome of this fight is going to be different - I’m going to knock him out! No 40-year-old can beat Tyson Fury.”

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