Tyson Fury’s team made late change on day of Wladimir Klitschko fight that proved crucial

10 years ago, Tyson Fury, overcame Wladimir Klitschko in Düsseldorf, Germany.

It remains ‘The Gypsy King’s career-best victory, but the fight could have panned out very differently were it not for the observant eye of Peter Fury.

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Tyson’s uncle and, at the time, trainer stepped between the ropes at the Esprit Arena on the morning of the fight and instantly noticed there was something amiss with the surface.

“It’s too soft,” said Peter as he called over his nephew to test out the ring.

‘The Gypsy King’ agreed, and upon further inspection, Team Fury determined that there were two extra layers of sponge under the canvas.

Fury’s Promoter, Mick Hennessy, protested that it was a health and safety risk and threatened to pull the fight were it not rectified.

Two hours of crunch talks ensued, with Klitschko‘s handlers eventually agreeing to remove the two layers of mattress to allow for the fight to go ahead as planned.

What followed was a boxing clinic from Fury, who glided around the ring on the back foot, sticking and moving behind the jab en route to a deserved unanimous decision victory.

Fury’s superior movement was the crucial component in securing him the unified WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight belts.

And were it not for his team’s intervention, that could have been compromised.

Why was the canvas such a point of contention?

“You have got guys that are 112kg sinking into the canvas,” Peter told Sky Sports at the time.

“These are super heavyweights, so the canvas needs to be hard surfaced for that reason.

“When they are moving quickly anything can happen, just like Mick said, it is about health and safety…

“The sub-surface is very soft sponge; there are about two layers that are a minimum of two inches thick.

“That needs to be taken off so they can put some proper, durable stuff underneath.

“We are just after a standard ring. The ring we used at the open workout was a proper surface. We want the same ring as that; we don’t want anything special.

“The ring we have seen is super soft, and it would affect Tyson’s [movement].”

Fury’s victory marked a changing of the guard in boxing’s glamour division.

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At the time, Klitschko was closing in on a decade as world heavyweight champion and hadn’t lost a fight in 11 years.

Fury entered the contest as a sizeable 7/2 underdog with his controversial triumph over John McDermott and wobbly patches against Steve Cunningham and the unheralded Neven Pajkic fresh in many boxing fans’ memories.

However, in the end, his nimble footwork and awkward style proved too much for ‘Dr Steelhammer’.