BIG INTERVIEW: Isaac Lowe wants a shot at the world featherweight title

Boxers, training partners – the pair are great friends outside of the ring.

Standing at a huge 6ft9ins, heavyweight Fury’s stature could not be more different to featherweight Lowe, who is more than a foot shorter in height.

But both are united by a thirst to be the best in the world in their respective weight categories.

And remarkably both call the sleepy seaside resort of Morecambe their home town.

Thirty-one-year-old Fury has already scaled the summit of the sport when he became the lineal heavyweight champion in 2015 when he defeated the legendary Wladimir 
Klitschko in Dusseldorf.

After his well-documented problems with drugs and depression, the Gypsy King is back looking to restore his position at the top of the sport. More than five year his junior, Lowe admits his fellow Morecambe native has provided an inspirational reference point for his own career.

The Westgate Warrior, who holds the WBC International belt, is closing in on his own world title shot after going unbeaten in 22 professional bouts.

Earlier this year, he realised a lifelong ambition when he fought in the United States on the undercard of Fury’s world title contest against American Deontay Wilder at the Staples Center, in Los Angeles.

Lowe has gone on to fight twice in Las Vegas, most recently last Saturday when he defeated Ruben Garcia Hernandez a bill which also featured Fury beating Otto Wallin, of Sweden.

The 25-year-0ld revealed that working in such close quarters as Fury has had a major impact on his career.

“When you surround yourself with world-class people, you raise your game,” said Lowe.

“If you don’t do that then you’re not going to look very good when you’re training next to them in the gym.

“With Tyson, he’s a masterclass in whatever he does.

“I enjoy training with him and having him pushing me to the maximum. Likewise I help push him on.

“That’s what you need. You need two people pushing each other on to be the best that they can be. We are not quitters.

“To be honest, we are competitive in the gym – we want to beat each other at whatever we are doing.

“It’s a contest and neither of us wants to lose.

“So training alongside him is brilliant.”

Lowe’s next goal is to fight for a European title, but his ultimate goal is to one day become world champion.

“On my day, fit, ready – I think I can give any featherweight in the world a fight,” said Lowe, who could fight current IBF world champion and fellow Brit Josh Warrington.

“I have got a big heart, guts and I will get stuck into anybody.

“I don’t fear anybody out there.

“I don’t fear any man who gets in the ring with me.

“They have only got two arms, two hands and two legs . I will fight anyone. I will take on all challenges. I want to fight the best – 
I want to get in the ring with the best that is out there.

“It’s okay me saying that I can be the best – until you get in the ring with these top, elite-level fighters, you’ll never know.

“The only way to prove yourself is to be given the opportunities and taking on the challenge.

“That’s what I want to do. I want to find out how good I can be.

“I want to push myself to the limit and if it turns out that I’m not good enough, then I’m not good enough.

“The only way I will know is when I fight these people on the big nights and the big venues – but I know the big occasion always brings out the best in me.

“I have always said the big stages, the big arenas, the big nights...that’s where I am at my best.

“The fact is, though, when you get in that ring, it’s just you and your opponent.

“It does not matter if you are fighting in a garden shed or a multi-million pound arena, it’s just you and another fighter.

“It then comes down skill, bottle, heart and guts and I’ve got all that so I will be ready whenever my chance comes.

“I am not going to pretend that I am up there with the best there has ever been.

“I am only 25-years-old, but that’s the good thing about me – I am still young and still got plenty to learn.

“When I go in the gym, there are still a lot of things I need to do better and need to improve.

“But I think I’m on the right track and getting more and more ready and experienced to fight for big titles.

“I am capable and willing to do whatever it takes to be the best fighter that I can be.”