The story goes that Tyson Fury weighed just one pound when he was born three months premature in August 1988.
Doctors gave him little chance of surviving but his father, John, who says he could fit his second son in the palm of his hand, disagreed.
‘Gypsy John’, himself a professional boxer at the time, claims he told the medical staff that his son would go on to become the world heavyweight champion and so named him after the man who was tearing a hole in the division at the time.
Mike Tyson was the world’s most famous fighter having surged to the pinnacle of the sport, becoming history’s youngest heavyweight champion two years earlier.
John figured his newborn was made of the same fighting spirit as Iron Mike.
Tyson was only 20 when he won that first world title at a hotel on the Las Vegas strip.
It was the famous green and gold WBC belt strapped around his waist when he was lifted by promoter Don King after beating Trevor Berbick in 1986.
The boy named after the fearsome fighter eventually grew to 6ft 9in and is now arguably the No1 heavyweight in the world.
As fate would have it, he gets his chance to win that same title on the same strip of Nevada desert when he takes on WBC king Deontay Wilder at the MGM Grand Garden in the early hours of Sunday.
The arena’s reputation as one of boxing’s meccas was forged thanks in no small part to Tyson, who tangled with Evander Holyfield, Frans Botha and Frank Bruno here during the 1990s.
Fury is the latest attraction to pitch up in Sin City and the locals have fallen in love with his act, the colourful suits, grinning face and comical quips. He has always spoken of his desire to crack America and, since his initial encounter with Wilder in December 2018, it must be considered mission accomplished.
The pair fought to a draw but Fury emerged from the Staples Center with a legion of new fans after the clip of his incredible 12th-round resurrection went viral. He has since boxed and won twice in Vegas and has done the rounds on chat shows in America in a bid to further raise his profile.
Fury is now better known here than he was in the aftermath of his win over Wladimir Klitschko in November 2015 which earned him the status of WBA, WBO and IBF champion. But, in the alphabet soup of major titles, he is still yet to follow in Iron Mike’s footsteps as a WBC champion. Wilder has held that title since 2015 and has defended it 10 times, which is the same number managed by Muhammad Ali during the 1970s.
Fury has said this week that stopping the run and clinching the green-and-gold strap will mean he has “completed boxing”. It’s hard to disagree.
“I’ve never been as focused or as ready for one fight as I am for this one,” Fury said. “I’ve not left anything unturned. We are going to see the best Tyson Fury that Tyson Fury can be. No excuses my end, I’m ready for war, one round or 12.”
But in the Bronze Bomber, 31-year-old Fury is facing one of the most devastating punchers ever.
His power has put paid to 41 of his 43 opponents inside the distance, which has given him the highest knockout percentage (95 per cent) in the division’s history. Some would argue he even carries greater one-punch power than Tyson, but it was not enough to keep Fury down.
Oddsmakers can barely split them and there is genuine intrigue surrounding this second encounter given the number of questions which have emerged.
The main one is on Fury’s training situation, given his split with friend and former coach Ben Davison, the man behind his incredible 10stone weight loss. In has come Sugar Hill Steward, tasked with delivering a game plan to upend the WBC champion.
Fury insists that will involve pursuing a knockout from the first bell, a strategy at odds with his own strengths. And Wilder reckons Fury is bluffing. “Well, we won’t have long to wait to find out, will we?” Fury said.
“It’s not very long to see if I’m bluffing or I’m telling the truth. He will only see on the night but I can tell you this, he’s getting knocked spark out.”
He has predicted Wilder’s demise will come in the second round as a result of the sort of devastating performance that his namesake Tyson built his reputation on.
The feeling here in Vegas is that such a scenario is highly unlikely.
Iron Mike has been in regular contact with the undefeated traveller during his training camp a short drive away from the MGM Grand.
The 53-year-old is booked to sign memorabilia for fans at a stand inside the hotel today and tomorrow before taking his seat at ringside for the fight.
Whether Fury channels his inner Tyson in a devastating knockout win, or boxes his way to a far more trademark victory, it will be in no way premature to call him the dominant heavyweight of this era.
