Tyson Fury to have Steve Cunningham as sparring partner to get ready for Haye

By Boxing News - 08/10/2013 - Comments

fury3By Scott Gilfoid: 37-year-old former IBF cruiserweight champion Steve Cunningham (25-6, 12 KO’s) will be joining unbeaten British/Irish heavyweight Tyson Fury (21-0, 15 KO’s) to work as sparring partner to get the 6’9” fighter ready for his September 28th fight against David Haye (26-2, 24 KO’s) at the Manchester Arena in the UK, according to Fightnews.

Cunningham will be joining Fury’s other two sparring partners 38-year-old Michael Sprott and Dillian Whyte to try and get him ready for what he’s going to be facing in the ring against the faster, stronger, and much more experienced Haye on September 28th.

The word is that Fury’s team is also interested in having American cruiserweight Eddie Chambers come over to work as a sparring partner as well.

Fury recently beat Cunningham by a controversial 7th round TKO last April in New York in a fight where Fury appeared to hold Cunningham down with his left forearm while nailing him with a right hand to get the stoppage.

The referee let the knockout count despite what looked like a textbook example of holding and hitting by Fury. Cunningham was not too happy about it, especially when the knockout was allowed to stand.

It might be kind of strange for Cunningham to be back in the ring with Fury as a sparring partner after the controversy surrounding their fight. I just hope that Fury keeps it clean during the sparring session, because I’d hate to see Cunningham go home early if he starts getting fouled left and right by Fury. Cunningham is supposed to be getting Fury ready for a boxing match held under the Marquess of Queensberry Rules, not some kind of MMA type bout.

The fight is taking place in the UK, so it’s possible that Fury could get away with some rough stuff against Haye. But Haye is no stranger to roughhouse tactics, as we’ve seen in his fights against John Ruiz and Audley Harrison. Haye can hold and hit at times, and he can also throw a mean rabbit punch from time to time.

If Haye starts nailing Fury with rabbit shots, I can see Fury hitting the canvas and staying down. I just hope Fury keeps it clean on September 28th, because if he turns into a street battle, I can see Haye unleashing his dogs of war on Fury and going wild on him with roughhouse tactics Fury hasn’t seen yet in the ring.



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