Tyson Fury has made a bold career decision, which may backfire on him. The former WBC heavyweight champion is channeling a popular Rocky III character ahead of his return fight against Arslanbek Makhmudov on April 11 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Which character? ‘The Gypsy King’ revealed that during the recent press conference for the fight in London.

“I’m like Clubber Lang, I’m going to train alone,” Fury told Anna Woolhouse when asked about the rest of his team. “I’m going to train alone… I know how to do it. I know how to go 12 rounds. I know how to push myself when I need to. I know how to take a rest when I need to. Boxing people try to make it so much like rocket science, but it’s not.

“As long as you train hard and eat well and get plenty of rest, I think the rest of it, if you’re experienced like I am, an experienced veteran in this game, sometimes you need people to point stuff out to you and remind you of certain aspects. But what I don’t know about my own body now, I’m never going to know.”

If you didn’t know, Clubber Lang, played by actor and former wrestler Mr. T in Rocky III, trained in solitude, which made him come off as raw and intensely self-driven. In the movie, Lang defeats Rocky Balboa, the protagonist, via knockout in the second round to win the heavyweight title. However, Balboa returns in a rematch to exact revenge. 

Tyson Fury appears to view himself in the same light with his first fight back. He suffered two back-to-back losses to Oleksandr Usyk in 2024, which prompted him to hang up his gloves for the 5th time. As for Fury’s team, in his first fight against Usyk, the legendary SugarHill Steward was his head trainer, joined by his father John Fury and cousin Andy Lee.

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In the second fight, however, John Fury, was removed after criticism over clashes with Steward during the first fight. This adjustment aimed to reduce distractions and improve focus, as the second fight reflected a slimmer team with Steward firmly in charge. However, since the second loss, Fury and Steward have gone their separate ways.

Regardless, fighting without a head coach could be the biggest mistake he makes, especially since he was nonchalant in the lead-up to his fight against Francis Ngannou. And the former UFC heavyweight champion nearly caused an upset. In comparison to Ngannou, Arslanbek Makhmudov is ranked No. 6 by WBA and No. 15 by IBF with 19 knockouts.

Yet Fury isn’t worried. In fact, he is so confident that the former WBC heavyweight champion did something wild during the presser.

Tyson Fury tickles Arslanbek Makhmudov 

‘The Gypsy King’ is the master of mind games. And he brought that mischief to the launch press conference for his comeback fight, even tickling Arslanbek Makhmudov during their first face-off. The 37-year-old was in a confident mood as he predicted exactly how his next bout would end.

“How does it end? Probably a big right-hand KO,” Fury declared. “Round six, why not? That’s a good, even number.”

Moments later, the pair squared up in front of the cameras. But any tension they might have had quickly disappeared when Fury playfully tickled the hard-hitting Russian, prompting laughter from Makhmudov. The light-hearted exchange suggested there is mutual respect between the heavyweights. 

But Fury’s bold knockout prediction makes it clear he plans to deliver far more than jokes on fight night. But the question is, without a proper team, can the aging former champion deliver?