Has Tyson Fury swapped the boxing gloves for wrestling garb, face masks and the like? It seems he has, for one bout at least, maybe two. Speaking ahead of his October 31st WWE debut against the huge, 385 pound Braun Strowman, that will take place in Saudi Arabia (and, UK fans, it will be available on Sky Sports Box Office), Fury said a number of things of interest.
Most importantly to boxing fans, Fury admitted that yes, there is “a hell of a chance” his wrestling gig could interfere, delay his agreed and signed February 22 rematch with Deontay Wilder. Also of note is the fact that Fury now fully believes, or he says he believes, WWE is not in any way fake, that it is instead “the most physically taxing sport I’ve ever been involved in.”
Fury, who is to be paid a whopping $15 million for the Strowman fight, also hinted that there could be more WWE appearances to come:
“Who knows what lies beneath?” Fury said to Mail Online. “Maybe [Cain] Velasquez, maybe [Brock] Lesnar. People say WWE is fake but now I know the hard reality. My first days of training opened my eyes to how athletic these guys really are. There’s always going to be injuries in contact sport but I’m not worried. I’m a born prize-fighter who’s been fighting his whole life.”
And while Fury’s insistence that WWE is real, as in not scripted, will not convince everyone, his promoter Frank Warren has expressed concern over Fury tackling Browman; saying he hopes it’s a show, not a real fight. Warren, like many others, is worried the nasty cut Fury suffered in his tough win over Otto Wallin will re-open, thus putting the Wilder rematch in serious jeopardy. But is Fury worried? Heck, he’s making a ton of cash in the wrestling ring now, and maybe he no longer has the urge to fight the best of the best in the boxing ring.
That might be good news for WWE fans, but it sure ain’t good news for boxing fans. Let’s hope Fury is simply having some fun, being paid extremely well as he does so, and that he will indeed be back in the ring early next year. Wilder is waiting for him.