Tyson Fury threatens to pull out of Klitschko fight
“They need to change it. If they don’t change, then we have a problem,” Asif Vali, Fury’s agent, told The Associated Press hours before tonight’s fight at a 55,000-seat soccer stadium in Duesseldorf.
Vali said Fury had made a complaint to the British Boxing Board of Control and the fight commissioner and “if it’s not resolved, the fight is in serious jeopardy of being off.”
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Hide AdVali said: “This is pretty serious news. The foam underlay is too soft. It’s five inches (12.7 centimeters) thick, which doesn’t help a big lad going into a ring. We’ve never seen canvas like this before. It’s too much from a health and safety point of view, because he can easily do (damage) his ankle. Usually there’s only a two-inch foam, and that’s it - this is between 5 and 6 inches.”
Vali said the 27-year-old Fury had looked at the canvas and “says it’s ridiculous and that he can’t fight in a ring like that.”
The undefeated Fury (18 knockouts in 24 bouts), a former British, Irish, European, and Commonwealth champion, is bidding to end Klitschko’s heavyweight reign and take the Ukrainian’s WBA, IBF and minor WBO and IBO belts.
The 39-year-old Klitschko, whose record is 64 wins with 53 knockouts from 67 fights, weighed in at 111.5 kilos (246 pounds) on Friday, giving Fury a slight advantage at 112 kilograms (247 pounds).
Fury, at 2.09-meters (6-foot-9), is also taller than the 1.98-meter (6-foot-6) Klitschko.