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Heavyweight sensation Tyson Fury will be out to impress in Dublin this weekend when he makes his Irish pro debut live on terrestrial television.
The unbeaten Manchester based heavyweight is a special attraction on the undercard of Irish hero Bernard Dunne’s first defence of his WBA Super Bantamweight title at The O2 in Dublin on Saturday night.
Fury is already familiar to Irish viewers following a guest appearance on the celebrity boxing series, Charity Lord of the Rings last month.
Fury has been matched with Tomas Mrazek, the Czech heavyweight who floored former British Champ Michael Holden en route to a draw in his last outing.
“I’m very proud of my Irish roots so to fight live on terrestrial TV over in Ireland is something I’m very excited about”, said Fury.
“I would have loved to fight for the Irish Heavyweight title on the card but I can’t seem to get any of these other Irish heavyweights in the ring.
“I was ringside when Bernard Dunne won the title in March and the atmosphere that night was sensational. The O2 is a terrific arena for boxing, it’s like being in the Colusseum and I can’t wait to walk out in front of that crowd and do a real number on Mrazek.”
The weekend’s bout marks a quick return to action for Fury coming just two weeks after his English title win over John McDermott. That bout saw Fury go the distance for the first time in his 8 bout career but Fury says he’s ready to return to his knockout ways in Dublin.
“I didn’t perform to my best last time out,” admitted Fury. “The important thing was that I still got the win. I know I’m not the finished article yet, I’ve a lot to learn but I’m willing to put in the work.”
A rematch with McDermott could be on the agenda and Fury is confident that the scorecards will not be required second time around. “That was the best possible John McDermott and the worst possible Tyson Fury in that first fight. A rematch would be a completely different fight and I’ll stop him next time.”
Fury’s promoter Mick Hennessy believes that McDermott is less than keen on a return bout. “On the Monday after the fight we offered McDermott a rematch for the chief support slot on the undercard of the Carl Froch and Andre Dirrell Super Six fight in Nottingham on October 17th McDermott’s manager said he wouldn’t be ready for that date but Tyson will have fought three times in that same 6 week period.
“I don’t believe Tyson is getting anything like the credit he deserves for making the leap from having only gone 4 rounds to going straight into a 10 round championship fight with a seasoned veteran like McDermott who is a proven, top domestic heavyweight.
“Even though Tyson was far, far from his best on the night he showed the tenacity, guile, heart and engine to prevail in a high pace championship fight and still finish the stronger man. I believe that had it been a 12 round fight he would definitely have stopped McDermott.”
