Tyson Fury's original voice form his first press conference as a boxer is very different to what he sounds like these days as he prepares for a unified world heavyweight championship rematch with Oleksandr Usyk this weekend.
Fury is one of the very best talkers in boxing history, producing a slew of iconic soundbites in press conferences and interviews. But while his voice is incredibly recognisable, the way in which which he talks now is very different to how he used to sound man years ago when he started out.
The Gypsy King made his professional debut on the Carl Froch vs Jean Pascal undercard and Fury back in 2008 and spoke to the media with such confidence.
But while Fury has never lost his charisma, the voice did transform into a raspy, husky tone. The voice change came about as a result of Fury being punched in the throat during a sparring session with Ty Mitchell back in 2015.
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"It wasn't always like this though, this isn't my original voice," he told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour.
"If you go back and look at interviews from like 2010 onwards right up until about 2016, I didn't have this voice.
"One of my good friends, Ty Mitchell... We were sparring and he hit me in the throat real hard and I developed a blood clot in my throat.
"It messed around with my vocal words, so this is why I talk like this now... Some would say it's quite sexy, I've been told."
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In a separate interview with BBC Radio 1 Fury said that he believes his voice "sounds better" as "there's more pain in it".
It hasn't prevented him from belting out tunes like Aerosmith's 'I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing' and Don McLean's 'American Pie' in the ring and Fury will be looking do the same on Saturday after he takes on Usyk for the WBA, WBC and WBO world heavyweight titles.
Fury has the chance to become a three-time world champion with victory in the rematch against the Ukrainian, though his motivation for fighting is a financial one given his £100 million pay packet for the first bout.
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Speaking ahead of the second fight, Fury said: "I'm only doing it for the money, obviously. All prize-fighters, if they tell the truth, do it for the money. I don't want to work for f*** all, I want to earn as much as I can get.
"I want the easiest fights possible for the largest amounts of money. I don't want the toughest fights possible for the least amount. I wasn't born on a Christmas cracker."
How to watch Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk for free
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To watch Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk go head to head, there are three options.
1) You can watch the rematch for free on DAZN. All you need to do is sign up for a seven-day free trial and simply cancel your subscription once the event is over. You’ll be able to stream the match on a range of devices including Playstation, Chromecast, and Smart TV with more coverage than any other broadcaster. Once your free trial ends, a pay-per-view subscription will cost £24.99 per month and gives you access to over 150 fights every year, but alternatively you have the option to cancel before you are charged for your second month.
2) You can also tune in live on Sky Sports Box Office (Sky channel 491). The event is priced at £24.95 for Sky customers in the UK and $27.95 if you’re based in the Republic of Ireland. Sadly Sky does not offer free trials, but Sky subscribers can book the match here and if you’re new to Sky, you can sign up here.
3) Alternatively, you can watch the fight on TNT Sports with a Prime Video subscription (free for the first month then £8.99/ month), provided you have discovery+ (from £3.99/ month) as part of your subscription.
Topics: Tyson Fury, Oleksandr Usyk