Record breaking 94K fans expected at Wembley Stadium for Fury’s homecoming vs Whyte

New record for boxing attendance in 21st century

“We are going to break some records,” Tyson Fury (31-0-1, 22 KOs) emphasized during a virtual press conference on Thursday. Fury’s WBC heavyweight title defense against Dillian Whyte  (28-2, 19 KOs) is expected to bring a crowd of 94 thousand people to Wembley Stadium in London on April 23rd. It would be a new record for boxing attendance in the 21st century and a UK record crowd.

85k tickets sold in 3 hours

In 2017 an audience of about 88K fans attended the Anthony Joshua vs Wladimir Klitschko bout at Wembley. When the Fury-Whyte tickets went on sale, over 85k were bought within 3 hours.

Fury’s homecoming

It will be the “Gypsy King”‘s homecoming, his first appearance in the UK since 2018. The 33-year-old fighter’s last five clashes have been in the United States.

“Absolutely fantastic. I’ve been on the road since 2018, I have been in some tough fights around the world,” the 6-foot-9, 276-pound fighter said. “I finally got to go back -to break all records – on UK soil in such a long time. To be fighting at the national stadium in Wembley in London just shows how much the fans support me. I’m overwhelmed.”

Respect for Whyte

Born in Manchester to an Irish traveller family, Fury will face his mandatory challenger Whyte in his second title defense after he won the WBC belt beating Deontay Wilder.

Very confident as usual, Fury showed a lot of respect for his opponent. “A lot of guys underestimate Dillian White but not me,” he said. “I’m giving this guy all the respect he deserves…Dillian is definitely in the top five heavyweights.”

Fury’s hard and fantastic career

Fury went from being an undercard in that very same stadium to likely breaking all time records. “It has been a fantastic journey. A long hard road, and the Lord knows it has been. It has been tough, a lot of left and right turns. I’m so happy the way it has all gone,” he commented.
“I beat every single world champion there is to beat. I boxed at MGM, T-Mobile arena, Staples Center, Madison Square Garden, The MA arena. And now I’m boxing at Wembley Stadium. Does it get any better than that? I don’t think so. I think it has been an absolutely fantastic career, 13 going on 14-year boxing career…And I just keep going. I just keep rolling on!.”

Fury : Getting paid to do something you love

Fury’s message to his fans was very deep and powerful.
“It’s amazing. I’m really happy to…get paid for a job that I absolutely love to do. And I think when you are in that position in your life: You get paid for something that you love to do and you’d probably do it for free anyway, then you are in a fantastic position. It has been an amazing, amazing roller coaster journey. I wouldn’t change it for the world,” he explained.

Fury : A full day of fighting would be more my style

“I am obsessed with time…I’m gonna take every second as a blessing. 
People think about what they’ll do after the fight, are they gonna go out? Not me. I like to enjoy every second in the ring. For me it goes very fast. Very quick. Even if it’s a 12-round fight, it goes like two minutes. I would fight with Dillian for a full day, full day of fighting. That would be more my style.

Fury : I enjoy getting punched and punching someone in the face

I just enjoy getting punched and punching someone in the face,” Fury added.

“It’s probably the only time when I’m actually truly happy. I’m really happy when I am in the boxing ring.”
A peculiarity in this training camp for Fury? He has been playing a lot of golf as integrant part of training to increase his punching power.

Fury’s life lesson

Remembering being bullied and put down by people all his life, Fury said the moral of the story is this:
“Life will always try to bring you down. But you should never give in to that. Keep fighting because tomorrow is a new day, you never know what it’s gonna bring…
To everyone out there suffering and doubting themselves, the word is ‘yes you can!’ You can come back from anything and you can be well again. 
Never have anyone put you down in life because you never know what you can achieve until you try.”

Whyte’s inspiring message

Dillian Whyte gave his own inspiring message. How would it feel to win this bout?
“For someone like me that has come from nothing, never had a sporting background… I didn’t even go to school, I didn’t do sports in school. So for someone like me to come from where I have come and to be the heavyweight champion of the world, to me it’s real inspiration.

I was just in the street, and then got in trouble and decided I can’t afford to be going to jail. I needed to do something else. And then I got good at it and I got better and better,” Whyte said in the press conference.
“I don’t go around saying I’m the greatest, I’m this and that. I know what I am, I know what I bring and I got a lot of pain and frustration to take out on someone.”
The 6’4” 34-year-old British fighter’s strategy against Fury?

Whyte: A fight in which you have to keep adapting

“I don’t know what’s gonna happen when the bell rings.
It’s one of those fights in which you have to keep adapting and keep changing,” he explained.

Whyte’s beautiful words

Whyte concluded with beautiful words. “Kids that come from where I come from don’t make it a lot of times. It’s that one in every few hundred thousands that makes it, even in this country, to be a professional. Most people would think that just being here is enough but I’m thinking about winning every championship and showing people that it doesn’t matter what the situation is, it doesn’t matter what happened to you in life, just persist. Believe in yourself…
And just keep pushing and keep grinding. 

All I do is grind man!”