Tyson Fury has turned the fight nobody wanted to see into the hottest ticket in town—by competing for free. The heavyweight champion takes on Mariusz Wach in Thailand on Friday night, donating his entire purse to a local children's charity.
Fury had insisted he would only return to the ring to face bitter rival Anthony Joshua, but he is now putting that mega-fight at risk by taking on the veteran heavyweight. Despite criticism for his choice of opponent, Fury says he won't take a penny from the clash.
Charity Over Cash
Instead, the £250,000 banked from the 1,500 fans in attendance will be donated to the Father Ray Foundation. Fury said: "This is a beautiful place with beautiful people and great training facilities. I feel at peace with everything here whereas before I had a lot of pressure on me and I felt a little bit s****y all the time."
He added: "The rain at home wasn't good. I thrive in warmer climates and I feel rejuvenated. I found the Father Ray Foundation and arranged to visit. They've helped thousands and thousands of sick and deprived children all over the country. Most of their donations come from people gift-giving, rather than government funding so it means a lot to me to be able to give back."
Father of Seven
"Being a father of seven children myself, it was heartbreaking to see those little kids and to do something good for them and give back is an unbelievable opportunity for me. Which other world champion or high-level athlete on earth would do a performance in a 1,500-seater in Pattaya?"
Fury questioned whether other stars would do the same: "Do you think David Beckham would play a professional football match here, or someone famous like that? They're just not going to do it, because a lot of celebrities and big sports stars think they're bigger than they actually are whereas I just think I'm the same I've always been, a big fat f***er in the shower."
Fight Preview
Fury, who laboured to a points victory over Arslanbek Makhmudov in April, should swat Wach aside with ease. The 46-year-old has lost seven of his last 10 fights and recently switched to MMA. Earlier this year he took on three social media influencers in a three-on-one circus fight.
Victory for Fury, coupled with the same result for Joshua, would leave the rivals free to finally face each other later this year. But Fury insists he is not looking past Wach. "Everyone comes to try and beat me up and they very rarely do," he added. "Mariusz had had a lot of professional fights and he's a big, dangerous guy."
"I've got to be on my A-game, and I've picked him because I want some good rounds out of him. He is the same size as me, the same weight as me and he's had the same amount of fights as me. He's been in there with the elite-level champions of two generations."
Fury concluded: "I'm not interested in what's going on with Joshua. This is about me and Mariusz, not about anybody else. I've never been one to fall into that trap, I've always taken my opponents seriously."
