CURTIS WOODHOUSE: I’m backing Fury to KO Klitschko

A lot is being written and said about the big heavyweight showdown in Dusseldorf on Saturday between Wladimir Klitschko and Tyson Fury.
Curtis Woodhouse is backing Tyson Fury to beat long-standing heavyweight king Wladimir Klitschko this weekendCurtis Woodhouse is backing Tyson Fury to beat long-standing heavyweight king Wladimir Klitschko this weekend
Curtis Woodhouse is backing Tyson Fury to beat long-standing heavyweight king Wladimir Klitschko this weekend

While most are backing Klitschko to win, I just fancy Fury to pull it off out there and I don’t know why really.

Fury just brings a lot of qualities to the table that are all wrong for Klitschko.

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He’s taller than him and he has the longer reach, and we all know Klitschko likes to jab and hold and lean back to avoid taking any shots.

He shouldn’t be able to do that with Fury and if he can get past the early battle of the jabs and turn it into a bit of a tear-up, I think he can do it.

One thing is for certain, Fury will leave it all in there. He won’t go to lose on points and he’ll look to stop Klitschko, and I think he has to take it out of the judges’ hands if he’s to have his hand lifted at the end.

I’m not sure if I’m thinking with my heart rather than my head with this one or not, because I really want him to do it.

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I like the bloke. I like listening to him talk and also watching him fight, he’s a good bloke.

I think he’ll finish it between rounds seven and nine, but it’s a tough one to call.

Another reason I want him to win is the possible fights it will set up, especially for our domestic heavyweights.

If Fury can win this fight then it really does open up the division, especially with the return of David Haye this week.

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I think it’s great for the sport and the division that he’s back. I think he’s portrayed very poorly in the media and people seem to forget that he’s a two-weight world champ and one hell of a fighter.

I trained a bit with Haye and he’s a good bloke, and he’s a very capable fighter who is still in fantastic shape.

I think after Haye deals with Mark De Mori in his comeback he’ll be eyeing up a shot at American world champ Deontay Wilder.

Rumour has it he had the better of their sparring sessions and should both he and Fury win world titles, imagine a unification dust-up between those two at the end of next year?

That would be massive for the sport, especially in Britain.

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Then factor in the likes of Anthony Joshua and possible even Dillian Whyte and David Price then you have some massive fights in the offing.

THE TINKER MAN HAS THE FOXES IN THE HUNT

It’s been great seeing Claudio Ranieri and Leicester City shaking things up at the top of the Premier League this season.

The Tinker Man has worked wonders with the Foxes this season as I’m pretty sure they were backed to go down this year.

People are obviously saying their good run of form won’t last and maybe it won’t, but I think they’ll still bag a top eight finish, which would be a phenomenal achievement.

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A shining example of their superb form has been the fairytale story of striker Jamie Vardy.

I regularly use Vardy’s rise from non-league to Premier League striker in my team talks at Hull United, and as I’ve said in this column before, he’s a great shining example to all players in the lower leagues of what can be achieved with hard work and dedication.

Vardy can break Ruud van Nistelrooy’s record for goals in consecutive Premier League games against the Dutchman’s former club Manchester United this weekend, and it would be great to see him do just that.

It should be a cracking game. Despite Manchester United usually stinking the place out under Louis van Gaal, Leicester come to score goals and attack and United will be dangerous on the counter.

Fingers crossed it’s an entertaining clash anyway.