This page is designed to be as complete as possible a reference list and
guide to the sparring of Heavyweight Contender and European Champion Tyson Fury as can
be found. It is part of our broader project, the main page list for finding sparring partner
history, to be found here:
1.
Michael Sprott:
Source:
Yahoo/Eurosport
2.
Dillian/Dellian Whyte:
Source:
Yahoo/Eurosport
3.
Eddie Chambers:
Source:
British Boxers
4.
Steve Cunningham:
Source:
British Boxers
5.
Anthony Joshua: Joshua was an amateur. Tyson says: "He came out at me for three rounds
and he give me a beating. I'm not going to admit-or deny it. He give me
what for, hell for leather, for three rounds. I thought 'Oh, my God, the
amateur's killing me.' " and "I don't mind telling anyone that he beat
me up in sparring."
Source: Tyson Fury, in interview with Steve Bunce, in or before 2010.
6.
Robert Helenius: Helenius mentions this as for his bout with Gbenga Oluokun, in March of 2010.
Source:
East Side Boxing
7.
Mike Perez:
Source:
ESPN, quoting Mick Hennessy, 2011
8.
Carlos Takam
(unverified): For his called-off rematch with Dereck Chisora, this
sparring was scheduled but I have not verified it taking place.
Source:
Sky Sports
9.
Ola Afolabi:
James Ali Bashir mentions seeing Ola and Tyson box each other in one of
Wladimir Klitschko's training camps. He says they had a "furious pace"
going and he thought Afolabi started to get the better of it when they
pulled Fury out. He said it was exciting to see them spar.
Source: James Ali Bashir, in a BaylorIC interview with Ingram Jones (a great interview).
March 09, 2013
10.
Nathan Cleverly:
Cleverly's father and trainer Vince Cleverly said "He has handled
heavyweights in sparring like Tyson Fury and Dereck
Chisora, and they have hit him with their best shots and not moved him."
Vince said this in the lead-up interviews for Nathan's defense against
Sergey Kovalev.
Source:
ESPN
11.
Hughie Fury: Tyson's cousin, Hughie, has mentioned sparring Tyson several times.
Source:
Boxing Scene
12.
Malik Scott: Scott mentioned in an interview with Elie Seckbach, that he was impressed with Tyson Fury when he sparred him, adding that Tyson busted both of his eardrums in their sparring and then took him out for dinner, apologising. Malik added that if Fury got a fight with Wladimir Klitschko, another of Malik's many sparring partners, he'd have to pick Fury.
Source:
EsNews
13.
Didier Bence: For his match with Neven Pajkic.
Source:
Boxing Ireland
14.
Arfan Iqbal: For his match with David Haye (scheduled but did not take place). The training took place in Belgium and Iqbal had this to say:
"I was there for
three-and-a-half weeks, but it feels longer when you spar
Tyson Fury every day. We sparred four rounds every day and it was tough. . .When
I first got there his reactions were slow, but when he sharpened up he
had great speed and movement. I didn't expect a guy who stands 6ft 9ins
tall and weighs 18 stones to be so fast and mobile."
Fury referred to Iqbal as his "secret weapon" in training for Haye.
Source:
Yahoo! Sport
15.
Rico Verhoeven: Rico is a kickboxer who says he met and sparred Fury first three years previous to his interview, helping him prepare for Wladimir Klitschko. He's glowing about Fury's abilities in the ring and his movement and stamina for a big man, and ability to switch stances. He claims Fury closed both of his eyes wearing headgear during their sessions. He also claims Fury's camp made several Dutch kickboxers quit in sparring and that they weren't used to anything like it and couldn't handle it.
Source:
Manchester Evening News
Other sparring notes:
1. Tyson was quoted in a Q & A session with Ring Network as saying: "From as soon as I began boxing as a teenager, I've been able to handle
men who were double my age and had double my experience. At age 15, 16, I
was sparring pro heavies and, mentioning no names, 'owning' British
cruiserweight champions."
Source:
Fight Network
2. For Tyson's match with Dereck Chisora, in greatly uncommon fashion, when Chisora initially postponed the match on account of injury, his own sparring partner volunteered to step in and save the date. This was Alexander Ustinov. It appeared that, as unusual as it was, this match would take place instead, but a medical issues involving a close relative reportedly rattled Tyson out of the match.
3. It is widely reported by Tyson's trainer of the time, that for his eventual rematch with Dereck Chisora, Tyson was struggling so badly with a chest infection that he had to be sent home, unable to spar four rounds due to weakness.
Source:
Daily Mail
For questions, concerns or corrections, please comment, and if it's for something you can source, feel free to link us to that source for our records to be as accurate for everyone as possible.
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