John Fury once said that he never encouraged his son Tyson to pick boxing. And despite his reservations, the junior started attending a gym at age twelve. Tyson Fury was determined to make a name for himself in the sport. Unhappy as an amateur, The Gypsy Kind turned professional in 2008. His first opponent, was Bela Gyongyosi from Hungary. It took him another seven years to reach the zenith. But many summers ago, Tyson’s tryst with fighting took place in the most unexpected corners. Far away from the glitzy Las Vegas or the deafening crowd at Wembley.

Talksport.com’s online boxing editor Michael Benson post tweeted The Gypsy King’s comments.

When Tyson Fury exchanged punched for the first time

When he was nine-year-old, his neighbors asked if Tyson would be interested in a fight against one of their younger siblings. It was one of those ask-and-forget inquiries or boyhood buffoonery sans any animosity—a frolicking test of strength. 

Tyson Fury shared the details with iFL TV’s Fight Withing podcast, “But I remember having a fight with my next-door neighbor, the two bigger brothers set it up, and they said to me, ‘Do you want to fight the lad next door?’. I said, ‘If you want.’ I was about 10 – nine I was!”

He recalls there was no rhyme or motive; the elder brothers just wanted to engage in a prank. So Fury and his opponent circled the front yard and got into a brawl basically over nothing. Every time he threw a punch, his pants would fall. He had ‘Donald Duck tracksuit bottoms‘ without a string. It was his first real bout; for the heck of it, to engage in some friendly competition.

The Gypsy King’s journey from amateur bouts to Heavyweight title

Fury opted to pursue boxing early. He had a successful amateur record of thirty-four fights, out of which he won thirty against a loss of four. He boasts a clean slate in the professional circuit. Barring, of course, the first match with Deontay Wilder, which ended in a contentious draw. He has won every major title in England and Europe. Finally, in 2015, he halted the nine-year reign of Wladimir Klitschko to become the WBA (Super), WBO, IBF, IBO, and The Ring Heavyweight title holder.

Sadly, following the Klitschko fight, The Gypsy King had to stay away from boxing. Due to depression and drug addiction, he gained significant weight and failed to maintain his motivation. However, staging a comeback in 2018, Fury defeated Deontay Wilder on 20th February 2020 to win the WBC Heavyweight title. Ever since, he has defended his title thrice and now awaits a unification bout with the Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk in 2023.

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