THIS LIFE SPORT by Paul Thomas Can Fury keep his throne? The second coming of boxer Tyson Fury has been impressive, but he also needs to fight his demons.

he commentary on last weekend’s Tyson Fury- heavy- weight rematch in was the usual mix of hyperbole, banality and grating repetition. The commentators were spot on in one regard, though: few, if any, sporting events generate the electricity of a major prize fight. TBut as always with big-time , there was a jarring contrast between the absurd theatrics intended to inflate a contest into a show and the raw, gladiatorial drama of the bout itself. Fury, the self-styled “Gypsy King”, entered the arena in a pantomime outfit and on a throne borne aloft by several women who, judging by their expressions, were wondering what on Earth possessed them to sign up for the gig. Rather than crown and mask, that recalled the Fury vowed to unwind the traditional fanfare, Fury made his grandiose giant rabbit in the movie Donnie after the fight by entrance to the strains of Patsy Cline’s Crazy, Darko. bingeing on cocaine singing along in a manner that suggested he was Wilder is renowned for his blithely unconcerned about what lay ahead. For his punching power but, before the and prostitutes. part, Wilder was decked first round was out, wore

GETTY IMAGES out in regalia, including a similar expression to the women who’d carried Fury athletes are becoming blander and to the ring. Alarm and more robotic. Fury may be the excep- bewilderment are entirely tion that proves the rule. He really is understandable reactions to a Traveller, a distant relative of Bartley being trapped in a confined Gorman V, who was known as “the space with a violently King of the Gypsies” by virtue of inclined giant, but it seemed being the undisputed bare-knuckle a little late in the day to dis- fighting champion of Britain and cover the downside of being Ireland from 1972 to 1992. the defending champion. After watching n 2015, Fury took the world title their man being bullied and battered off Ukrainian , for six rounds, Wilder’s corner threw Ithe longest-reigning heavyweight in the towel in the seventh. champion in history. He then pro- It’s conventional wisdom that ceeded to stake out a position on the lunatic fringe with remarks such as, Showmanship: Fury on his throne and “I’d hang my sister if she was promis- Wilder in his mask. cuous”, and sabotage his career and

44 LISTENER MARCH 7 2020 Poisoned chalice no more Calling out ’s thin-skinned cricketers shows Australian is finally comfortable at the reins.

less turbulent sporting was Australia’s stand-in captain journey, but a compelling while served his ban? A one nonetheless, is that of Against the odds, however, he has Australian captain Tim presided a culture change Paine, who has gone from prodigy and got Australia back to winning to forgotten man to sacrificial ways. lamb to saviour. Now, he obviously feels secure A wicketkeeper-batsman from enough to call out English hypoc- , Paine was the youngest risy over fan abuse. Despite having Australian player to be awarded served their bans and suffered a contract (he was 16 at the time; severe public humiliation and he’s now 35). After captaining the loss of income, Smith and fellow Australian under-19 side, he made miscreant had to an instant impact on the first-class grin and bear relentless abuse scene and duly progressed to the from English spectators during last national team. A glittering career year’s World Cup and Ashes series. seemed a matter of course. The English team, though, got on But a complicated finger injury their high horse recently when a took him out of the game for South African spectator mockingly two years, and sport, like nature, compared talismanic all-rounder abhors a vacuum. By 2017/18, to pop star Ed Sheeran Violent giant: Tyson having been talked out of retiring, – a comparison some might think Fury knocks down Paine was playing for the Tasma- does Sheeran no favours. Deontay Wilder in their heavyweight title nian 2nd XI as a specialist batsman. Said Paine: “You cannot react bout in Las Vegas. Then, in a left-field call that, with to the crowd [like Stokes in South the benefit of hindsight, warrants Africa] but then always encourage the description “inspired”, he was the Barmy Army to do exactly the well-being by sliding into addiction, ballooning to recalled to the Australian team same and worse – abuse players. 180kg and succumbing to mental demons. after a seven-year absence, equal- They clap [the Army] at the end of He still has a penchant for bizarre and outrageous ling the record for the most tests the day’s play and make a point of statements, although one suspects his primary between appearances. thanking them.” motivation is seeing whether the media is daft When the “Sandpapergate” He could have added that, enough to recycle them. For instance, he claimed scandal erupted in March 2018, unlike India’s and Paki- to have prepared for the fight by engaging in Paine was handed the poisoned stan’s , England marathon oral sex sessions to strengthen his jaw chalice of leading a demoralised captains Eion Morgan (World Cup) IMAGES GETTY and, somewhat contradictorily, masturbating seven team deprived of its two best and (Ashes) studiously times a day “to keep my testosterone pumping”. players. In practice, that meant declined to call on their fans to He also vowed to unwind after the fight by retaining his dignity while the rest give Smith and Warner a break. bingeing on cocaine and prostitutes, although of the cricket world revelled in the presence at ringside of his wife, the mother of Australia’s humiliation and his five children, suggested otherwise. A po-faced waited for proof that, for all the talk of transform- op-ed on CNN accused him of bringing boxing into ing the team culture, the disrepute. Hello? Since when has boxing not been leopard hadn’t changed in disrepute? The piece actually contained a link to its spots. a story about three boxers dying, within the space For a time, it seemed of a few weeks last year, of injuries sustained in the as if Paine was des- ring. tined to be a Trivial Given how far Fury fell, his second coming is a Pursuit question: who remarkable achievement. The media, boxing fans and, most of all, rival will now watch with keen interest to see if he has the ambition and English hypocrisy: Ben Stokes, left, and Tim Paine. reserves of self-discipline to make the most of it. l

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