Tyson Furious With Rival's Glove Choice
Tyson Fury is involed in a bitter row about the choice of gloves he's being forced to wear ahead of Saturday's world heavyweight title clash with Wladimir Klitschko.
Klitschko, the Ukrainian WBA Super, WBC and IBF champion (64-3-KO53), chose Paffen gloves for the bout, but Fury has found the test pair sent to him by the manufacturer uncomfortable to train with.
A second test pair were deemed more suitable, but Fury (24-0-KO18) is still waiting for a brand new pair of those to be made and delivered to him in time for his date with destiny in Dusseldorf.
The 27-year-old Briton said: "There's a ruckus over the gloves. I mean this, if I don't fight in the right gloves, then there's no fight. I'm in Germany, in the town he picked, wearing the make of gloves he wanted.
"He's had it all his own way in every single aspect and all I ask is that I'm treated fairly and to wear gloves which fit me, for the sake of my hands. Because this is not my last fight. After I knock him out, I'll have other fights and I need my hands for my trade.
"I just want a normal glove. I either get the gloves I want or there's no fight. Alternatively, we can do it bare knuckle."
Fury said the main problem with the first pair were the thumbs, insisting the way they are tailored could cause him injury.
He said. "They sent me some gloves over which Wladimir had asked for and they had big giant thumbs which were about two or three inches bigger than normal so that the thumb is sticking out.
"Every time I was punching with them my thumb was nearly breaking. No matter how we tried breaking them in, it wasn't working. I was hurting my hands all the time. We phoned the guys there and they said 'these are the gloves Klitschko has asked for and he won't be happy if we give him any other gloves'.
"I said 'how can I box in gloves I'm not comfortable wearing?'. They sent me another style with normal thumbs which seemed to be okay. But then they said 'oh it's going to be a struggle to make these gloves in time'. They are still not made."
Fury revealed he has received the full backing of British boxing officials in his attempt to have the gloves changed.
"Robert Smith [British Boxing Board of Control secretary] stepped in and said 'you need to make them on time because it's not fair to have a fighter boxing in gloves he isn't comfortable with in a world title fight'," he said.
Unbeaten Fury added: "You don't get your gloves in advance so I won't know until the rules meeting after the weigh-in whether they are ready.
"If I get the gloves with the big thumbs? It's a no-go area. I'm not fighting in them. Because even if I throw a jab, I'm going to dislocate my thumb.
"Mind games won't affect me at all. If there are no gloves there is no fight. It's not rocket science. It's like coming into a ring with no shoes on. It's not going to be sanctioned. I would definitely not go back on this."
