03-09-2017, 04:25 PM
Hughie Fury - what you need to know about Joseph Parker's next opponent
Hughie Fury is relishing his shot at the big time with a WBO title fight against New Zealand's Joseph Parker.
He's spent his boxing career in the shadow of his outrageous cousin Tyson, but it's Hughie Fury's time for the global spotlight.
Here's what you need to know about the British heavyweight who challenges Kiwi Joseph Parker for the WBO world heavyweight title in Auckland on May 6.
- Fury is 22. He was born in Stockport, Greater Manchester on September 18, 1994.
- He's a big unit – he stands 1.98m and has a reach of 2.03m (Parker's stats are 1.93m tall with a 1.93m reach).
- But he's not heavy - for his last fight he weighed 104.8kg. Parker usually comes in around 111kg.
- His nickname is The Fist of Fury
- He's the cousin of former world champion Tyson Fury and both are trained by Hughie's father Peter.
- Hughie is the second youngest of six siblings.
- The Fury family are of Irish Traveller heritage and very proud of it.
- He's no mug, having won the super-heavyweight title at the world youth championships in Armenia in 2012. He was the first British fighter to claim that title in the top weight division. His amateur career started at the age of 11.
- He turned professional at the age of 18 and has carved out an unbeaten record over 20 fights which feature 10 knockouts.
- There have been repeated question marks over his power and durability, though high regard for his ring intelligence.
- Like Parker, he fights with an orthodox stance.
- He holds the WBO Inter-Continental belt after beating American Fred Kassi in London last year by a technical decision. The bout went to the scorecards after seven rounds following a clash of heads which left Fury with a gash over his left eye. Fury was ahead on all judges scorecards at the time of the stoppage (69-66, 70-64 and 69-65).
- That was Fury's last fight and he will have been out of the ring for 13 months by the time he takes on Parker.
- That inactivity has been by misfortune and also out of necessity. He had a scheduled fight with Mexican Andy Ruiz (the fighter Parker beat for the title) cancelled with Ruiz declaring he wasn't mentally ready.
- His bigger problem has been overcoming the painful skin condition conglobate acne that he believes has left him fighting at only 30 per cent of his power. "I've had it since I was 15. I thought it was teenage acne so it never really bothered me, but then it kept getting worse. Before I fought Fred Kassi I had cold sores all around my mouth. My face was swollen with acne; that was the worst it has ever been." A specialist was amazed he was even able to fight. He now declares he is feeling better than ever which is timely for what is in front of him.
- Despite his inactivity he has somehow climbed to No 2 with the WBO but isn't ranked inside the top 15 of the three other major sanction ing bodies. The independent rankings at BoxRec have him placed at No 25 in the world to Parker's No 7.
- He doesn't see travel as an issue though coming to New Zealand adds another dimension to his previous excursions that have seen him fight professionally in Canada, Romania, Ireland and Monaco.
- Fury is staring at his biggest payday in Auckland. No matter the result, Parker, as champion, will earn US$1,806,600 and Fury US$1,204,400.
- But Fury will fight with doping allegations still hanging over him. He and Tyson Fury allegedly tested positive to the banned steroid nandrolone in 2015. They had suspensions lifted on appeal but there has still been no revelations about their B samples and a hearing that was reportedly scheduled for before the Parker fight has been postponed.
- He admits he's been a bit of an introvert, living in the shadow of Tyson. But he's coming out of his shell with increasing confidence out of the ring.
- Stuff
Hughie Fury is relishing his shot at the big time with a WBO title fight against New Zealand's Joseph Parker.
He's spent his boxing career in the shadow of his outrageous cousin Tyson, but it's Hughie Fury's time for the global spotlight.
Here's what you need to know about the British heavyweight who challenges Kiwi Joseph Parker for the WBO world heavyweight title in Auckland on May 6.
- Fury is 22. He was born in Stockport, Greater Manchester on September 18, 1994.
- He's a big unit – he stands 1.98m and has a reach of 2.03m (Parker's stats are 1.93m tall with a 1.93m reach).
- But he's not heavy - for his last fight he weighed 104.8kg. Parker usually comes in around 111kg.
- His nickname is The Fist of Fury
- He's the cousin of former world champion Tyson Fury and both are trained by Hughie's father Peter.
- Hughie is the second youngest of six siblings.
- The Fury family are of Irish Traveller heritage and very proud of it.
- He's no mug, having won the super-heavyweight title at the world youth championships in Armenia in 2012. He was the first British fighter to claim that title in the top weight division. His amateur career started at the age of 11.
- He turned professional at the age of 18 and has carved out an unbeaten record over 20 fights which feature 10 knockouts.
- There have been repeated question marks over his power and durability, though high regard for his ring intelligence.
- Like Parker, he fights with an orthodox stance.
- He holds the WBO Inter-Continental belt after beating American Fred Kassi in London last year by a technical decision. The bout went to the scorecards after seven rounds following a clash of heads which left Fury with a gash over his left eye. Fury was ahead on all judges scorecards at the time of the stoppage (69-66, 70-64 and 69-65).
- That was Fury's last fight and he will have been out of the ring for 13 months by the time he takes on Parker.
- That inactivity has been by misfortune and also out of necessity. He had a scheduled fight with Mexican Andy Ruiz (the fighter Parker beat for the title) cancelled with Ruiz declaring he wasn't mentally ready.
- His bigger problem has been overcoming the painful skin condition conglobate acne that he believes has left him fighting at only 30 per cent of his power. "I've had it since I was 15. I thought it was teenage acne so it never really bothered me, but then it kept getting worse. Before I fought Fred Kassi I had cold sores all around my mouth. My face was swollen with acne; that was the worst it has ever been." A specialist was amazed he was even able to fight. He now declares he is feeling better than ever which is timely for what is in front of him.
- Despite his inactivity he has somehow climbed to No 2 with the WBO but isn't ranked inside the top 15 of the three other major sanction ing bodies. The independent rankings at BoxRec have him placed at No 25 in the world to Parker's No 7.
- He doesn't see travel as an issue though coming to New Zealand adds another dimension to his previous excursions that have seen him fight professionally in Canada, Romania, Ireland and Monaco.
- Fury is staring at his biggest payday in Auckland. No matter the result, Parker, as champion, will earn US$1,806,600 and Fury US$1,204,400.
- But Fury will fight with doping allegations still hanging over him. He and Tyson Fury allegedly tested positive to the banned steroid nandrolone in 2015. They had suspensions lifted on appeal but there has still been no revelations about their B samples and a hearing that was reportedly scheduled for before the Parker fight has been postponed.
- He admits he's been a bit of an introvert, living in the shadow of Tyson. But he's coming out of his shell with increasing confidence out of the ring.
- Stuff