Tyson Fury: WBC heavyweight champion 'badly injured' before Deontay Wilder fight, says his father

Tyson Fury knocked Deontay Wilder down three times on his way to victory in their trilogy fight in October

World heavyweight champion Tyson Fury has had surgery on both elbows after suffering a serious injury before his second win over Deontay Wilder, said the Briton's father John Fury.

Tyson, 33, gained a thrilling 11th-round win over the American to retain his WBC title in October in Las Vegas.

"Tyson was very badly injured going into that fight," John Fury told BT Sport.

"He was handicapped from the beginning. It wasn't a boxing match was it?"

Tyson was twice knocked down in the fourth round before knocking out Wilder in a brutal contest to remain undefeated and world champion.

"My son's number one, a legend and will be spoken about for hundreds of years," added his father. "He's that damn good and got that burning desire to never get beaten.

"He had to have chromosome injections into both elbows. He's since had an operation, six hours, all day in hospital having them sorted out. He had some bone spurs he had to get removed.

"He said to me afterwards 'I couldn't box, I couldn't work the jab. If I'd missed the jab it would've put me in limp mode and I wouldn't have been able to fight.

"'The pain when throwing the jab was unbearable so I was fighting two people - the pain in my own body and him. All we could do was make it a war and I wanted to win more than he did'."

Tyson Fury drew with Deontay Wilder in their first fight in December 2018, won in the seventh round of their rematch in February 2020 and in the 11th round of their third fight in October

'Tyson will be fighting when he's 40'

Fury has won 31 and drawn one of his 32 fights - with the draw coming in his first bout with Wilder before the Briton won the second and third - and his father believes he should not fight again.

"I said retire," added John Fury. "He's won everything, nothing to prove and has millions of pounds in the bank, he's secure for life, there's more to life than getting your brains rattled.

"But he's his own man, he'll do what he's going to do but for me I said to call it [over].

"He's beaten the best man of his era three times, what more can he do?

"Tyson will spend two months at home and want the smell of sweat and leather. He'll be fighting when he is 40, he can't help himself, he's a human pitbull terrier."

'He could beat Whyte and Usyk on the same night'

Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk beat Britain's Anthony Joshua in September to win the WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO belts, while another British fighter, Dillian Whyte, is the mandatory challenger to Fury's WBC strap.

But John Fury believes none of them could beat his son and added: "There'll always be someone like Usyk and then after him there'll be someone else. Usyk will do nothing with a man like Tyson.

"Joshua is a beaten thing, Dillian Whyte can fight, but is not the class of my son, no-one is. Tyson's a country mile above everyone else and he was not fit.

"He had Covid [in July], had two useless elbows, couldn't throw the jab, couldn't box properly and they still couldn't do anything with a half-fit man.

"Imagine Tyson firing on all cylinders. He could beat Whyte and Usyk on the same night with a proper camp behind him."

Oleksandr Usyk (left) gained a unanimous points win over Anthony Joshua at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in September

Joshua's loss ended hopes of an all-British unification bout to decide the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis in 2000.

Tyson has offered to train Joshua before his rematch with Usyk, scheduled for spring 2022.

"Tyson could make Joshua a different fighter," said John Fury.

"Joshua can punch, he's got the right physique, everything to be a great. All he needs is to get the knowledge of what's missing and learn how to go into trench warfare.

"It's mental [for Joshua] one million percent. If things don't go well they plummet and he can't get back on track.

"AJ, with the right people around him, can come back and win [against Usyk] because he's a big lad, got a good array of boxing skills, all he needs is that dog in his belly and know how to fight."

'Tommy should beat Jake Paul'

Light-heavyweight Tommy Fury has been a professional boxer since 2018, winning all seven of his fights

Tyson's half-brother Tommy will be taking on YouTuber-turned boxer Jake Paul in Florida on 18 December.

"He should beat Jake Paul at a canter and if he can't there's no way in boxing for him," said his father.

"It's a make-or-break fight for both but it would hit Tommy harder as he's a professional boxer.

"Has Tommy got the skill to beat him? Yes. Has he got the power to knock him out? Yes. But how can Tommy handle the occasion?

"Tyson will be in his corner and whatever desire Tommy is missing, Tyson will put it there.

"The only thing that can beat Tommy is Tommy. I'm looking for a Tommy win, an explosive finish, then we will move to the other brother Logan [Paul]."

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