April 20 in NYC vs. Steve Cunningham on NBC
Fury (l) and cunningham exchange heated words
Fury vs. Cunningham headlines an exciting event, co-promoted by Main Events and Hennessy Sports, which will air live (4 p.m. ET start) on NBC from The Theater at Madison Square Garden, as part of a special two-hour afternoon presentation of NBC’s Fight Night boxing series.
The 12-round Fury vs. Cunningham main event is an official International Boxing Federation (IBF) Heavyweight Voluntary Eliminator for the No. 2 position, showcasing No. 8-rated Fury versus No. 12-ranked Cunningham.
“All of the top heavyweights in the world need Americans to watch them fight and that’s why I’m making my U.S. pro debut in New York City for all Americans to see on national television,” the charismatic Fury said from his Canadian training camp at beautiful Casino Lac-Leamy in Gatineau, Quebec. “You can’t put the Klitschkos in the same category as me. Nobody outside of the Ukraine and Germany care anything about them. They fought a few times in America. Wladimir fought a real stinker in Madison Square Garden (DEC12 vs. Sultan Ibragimov on Feb. 23, 2008).
“I was supposed to fight in America a few times but they fell out for different reasons. We needed good television, a good arena, and good opponent. Now’s the right time; we have all that.”
Fury, also rated No. 4 by the World Boxing Council (WBC) and No. 6 by the World Boxing Organization (WBO), has green running through his veins. His Irish Traveller family has a long history in boxing, dating back to the 1880’s bare-knuckles days of his great grandfather, Tiger Gorman, and his uncle, Bartley “King of the Bare Knuckles” Gorman. His father, “Gypsy” John Fury, the man who named his son after Mike Tyson, was also a prize-fighter in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s.
As an amateur boxer, Tyson represented both England and Ireland because his father is from Galway, and grandmother (on his mother’s side) hails from Belfast. It’s not a coincidence that his promoter, Mick Hennessy, is marketing his star on the East Coast of the U.S., where the largest groups of Irish immigrants and Irish-Americans live in New York City, Boston and Philadelphia.
“I am the Irish Heavyweight Champion and there’s never been another like me,” the often outspoken Fury explained. “The Irish love real fighters, like me, who always say it like it is. I like to fight and I’m looking forward to fighting in front of so many Irish fans in New York City and watching across the states on NBC.”
Cunningham, fighting out of Philadelphia, represents a clear and present danger, unquestionably the stiffest challenge of the 24-year-old Fury’s relatively young professional career. Cunningham has nearly had as many world title fight rounds (95) as Fury has total rounds fought (105).
“Cunningham is a good boxer and world champion who fought in different countries,” Fury concluded. “He’s a small (203lbs. in last fight) heavyweight who will come in with a good game plan and strategy. I anticipate him running but, sooner or later, I will catch him and knock him out. If he runs, I hope the fans boo him out of the arena. He’s going to have to fight me. I’m coming to fight and put on a show.”
One of Fury’s Hennessy Sports stable-mates, heavyweight Hughie Fury (1-0, 1 KO) is also scheduled to fight on the April 20 card.
Tyson’s 18-year-old cousin, 6′ 8”, 235-pound, Hughie, won his impressive pro debut by second-round knockout last Friday in Montreal.
“I can’t wait until April 20th as I know Tyson is going to shake up the world of heavyweight boxing, he’s in phenomenal shape and I know he is going to make a huge statement on his US debut.” Mick Hennessy said.
APRIL 20TH FIGHT INFO:
April 20th at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York features a 12-round heavyweight battle between Tyson Fury and Steve Cunningham in the main event. Curtis Stevens will take on Derrick Findley in the 8-round middleweight co-feature. Six additional bouts are planned for the undercard. The Theater at Madison Square Garden doors open at 1:15 PM. The main event and co-feature will be broadcast 4PM ET on NBC as a special 2 hour afternoon presentation of NBC Sports Fight Night. The card is presented by Hennessy Sports and Main Events.
Tickets are priced at $25, $50, $100, $250 and $500. Tickets are available at the Madison Square Garden box office, through Ticketmaster 866-858-0008 and at ticketmaster.com. Ticket prices include a $5 Facility Surcharge. Ticketmaster purchases are subject to a Ticketmaster Surcharge. Wheelchairs, companion seats, aisle seats and Assistive Listening Devices are available 212-465-6035.
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As in September, I once again ran out of gas in the 10th & 11th championship rounds of October & November with this column, but I recovered to complete them and will unleash a few more flurries to close out the 12th and final round.
In the first week of October, Hassan N’Dam won a UD over Curtis Stevens in an eliminator for the right to challenge Jermaine Taylor who defeated aging Sam Soliman to regain the IBF Middleweight title. How Taylor even earned this title shot is another story altogether, but it is all irrelevant as he is now the champion. However he will not have too much time to savor his victory as he has assault and battery charges pending against him and an upcoming court fight that may turn out to be the toughest fight of his life, just when things started to look up for him in boxing, we wish him luck.
