All eyes on the Fury-Haye showdown
In the UK right now, all boxing fans’ eyes are set on the forthcoming showdown between former world heavyweight champion David Haye and the colossal and very appropriately named Tyson Fury on 28th September.
This is one of those big fights that captures the imagination far more than others for many reasons. As things stand, the bookies have David Haye as odds-on favourite, whilst Fury is available at around 5/2. But this may be looking very generous in a couple of weeks’ time. There have been many occasions in the past with big fights where longer odds than 5/2 have been landed – and Fury’s sheer size and presence make him a very tough prospect for anyone. Fury is 6ft 9 inches tall and has a reach of 85 inches. This means he’s a full six inches taller than Haye and outreaches him by seven inches. He’ll also weigh in a lot heavier the day before the fight. And Fury is also seven years younger than Haye at just 25.
Both men are English, but they couldn’t be more different. Fury is out of Irish stock and is the flag-bearer for the travelling communities on both sides of the Irish Sea. His character is very different to Haye’s. The latter has ambitions in music, acting or both when he hangs up his gloves and generally tries to cut more of a sartorial figure than Fury – with mixed results.
Fury was born in Manchester to an Irish travelling family and boxing is very much in the blood – his cousin is the well-known Irish Middleweight Andy Lee and the heavyweight was named Tyson after Iron Mike. Fury’s father, meanwhile, is serving an 11-year sentence for gouging another man’s eye during a fight at a car auction, but is expected to have day-release from prison to watch his son’s fight.
If you fancy a free bet on the fight, it’s well worth checking out the casino games as you will qualify for a free introductory bonus equivalent to a better than 3-1 winner when you deposit cash. If you play through carefully, you should have plenty left to double up the excitement with a withdrawal and a wager on what is the biggest British heavyweight bout since Lennox Lewis fought Frank Bruno 20 years ago – almost to the day. On that occasion, Lewis beat Bruno on a technical knockout in the 7th round after a close-fought match.
A wager on Fury may well be a good value bet. If he can land the kind of big punch we know he’s capable of, then anything is possible. And the fact that the fight is in Manchester may also weigh in Fury’s favour.
But whatever happens, it will be a great bout and a great one to watch the build-up for. The rivalry between the two men is somewhat reminiscent of the Chris Eubank – Steve Collins relationship; one in which the latter Irishman came out the best, of course. Perhaps history will repeat itself?