TYSON FURY would FAKE injuries to catch out members of his team leaking stories to the press before fighting Deontay Wilder, his trainer has claimed.
Andy Lee assisted Sugar Hill Steward in preparing the Gypsy King for the stunning eight-round TKO win in Las Vegas and has opened up on how Fury acts behind the scenes.
Among the heavyweight champ’s tricks are his fun with feigning injuries in an attempt to trick any potential moles in his camp.
Lee told Boxing Social: “There was a couple of days where Tyson messed around, just to see if leaks would happen.
“He feigned injury or pretended to limp a little bit after the sparring session just to see what would happen.
“That’s the type of level of deviousness you’re dealing with, with him. Inside his own training camp where he’ll put on a show and play act to see if anyone talks outside the camp.”
Indeed, Fury was seen limping onto the stage for his weigh-in ahead of facing Braun Strowman in WWE last year – a fight he won without any apparent injury.
And Lee himself confesses to having been worried by a potential issue that was simply the 32-year-old “messing around”.
The trainer noted: “One day he pretended to have a bicep injury, he pretended to shake out his hand after training and I was really concerned.
“He was like, ‘Did you see what I did there? I was just messing around’.
“I was like ‘Oh, this is a joke’ – I was really concerned about his bicep but it wasn’t a problem.”
Lee, who himself won 35 of his 39 fights as a professional, paid tribute to Fury’s attitude in his preparation for the world title rematch.
Fury made numerous headlines in the fight build-up by claiming to be undertaking some bizarre training methods.
As well as dipping his hands in petrol, the Gypsy King asserted that he was masturbating seven times per day and strengthening his jaw by “licking p***y”.
But Lee paints a very different picture of the fighter – who is finally set to fight Anthony Joshua.
He continued: “Everyone says you have to take it with a pinch of salt, but he performed perfectly in training.
“He worked extremely hard, people might be surprised because they see the larger than life character, but when it comes to training he is very focused and very serious about what he does.
“He didn’t cut any corners or allow any small treats or small mercies, he just stuck to his diet as strict as can be with his eating, his sleep and everything he did.
“Maybe he had to, because he knew the fight he was in, but it was worth it.”
