Watch Lauren Price challenge Jessica McCaskill in her first world title fight in Cardiff on Saturday, live on Sky Sports; Hughie Fury resumes his comeback when he faces German Patrick Korte on the undercard
Friday 10 May 2024 08:21, UK
Hughie Fury is aiming to make up for lost time as he continues on his comeback trail in Cardiff this Saturday.
The former WBO world title challenger will face Patrick Korte on the undercard of Lauren Price's world title clash with Jessica McCaskill in what will mark just his second fight back following a three-year absence from competitive action.
Fury had been sidelined since his win over Christian Hammer in 2021 due to health issues, before recently returning in a six-round points win over Kostiantyn Dovbyshchenko.
"I'm over the moon, I'm ecstatic, I can't wait to be back in the ring now," he told Sky Sports. "And yeah, two fights in three weeks. Perfect!
"It's been torture. It's been like time stood still. I've been trying to get back in the ring for three years.
"It's not like I've been off and trying to enjoy life. It's been a mission just to get back to where I was and now I'm healthy and I'm blessed. Thank God I'm doing what I love."
Fury was denied the WBO heavyweight world title back in September 2017 when he suffered a majority decision defeat to Joseph Parker, before later falling shy while facing Alexander Povetkin for the WBA International heavyweight title in August 2019.
Still just 29 years old, he retains faith that he has both the time and talent to work his way back towards a shot at the belts.
"I believe I can get right to the top, I believe I'll be world champion. The key for me now is being back and active," he continued.
"I just want to be in big entertaining fights. Whoever it is, it doesn't bother me. I leave that to my team, but I want to be in big fights. This is unbelievable to being back under the spotlight and Cardiff is perfect, so I'm excited to be here.
"I believe it's a wide-open heavyweight division and I believe I belong at the top."
He isn't shy in admitting to a few cobwebs during his recent win over Dovbyshchenko, but feels he is progressing swiftly in his bid to return to top form.
"It was excitement, but it's like anything being in the ring after three years," he said. "It was a long time. So we picked that opponent because he was tough and just to get back in the groove of things.
"Listen, there's nothing like being under the lights. It comes back to you pretty quickly. I definitely felt a bit of ring rust in there so I'm glad I got that one out the way."
"I'm on the way now. I'm en route. I feel a lot sharper this time around. And you see the difference on Saturday night.
"You're going to see a nice explosive performance."
Boxxer CEO Ben Shalom reiterated that age remains on Fury's side and is keen to help steer him back towards heavyweight contention.
"He had such a great start to his career and fought for a world title at such a young age which was phenomenal, so he really was fast-tracked for a heavyweight," said Shalom.
"I'm close with Peter Fury and I just want to see him fulfil his potential and be able to know he did everything that he could.
"It's still an early stage for him after such a long long time out, we're here to try and help him on his way and make sure he stays fit.
"With heavyweights we usually see them peaking in their early 30s, so he's still got it all there and here's just hoping he can stay healthy because he could go on to have big opportunities."
It's one of the biggest sporting events in a generation. Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk collide for the undisputed world heavyweight championship on Saturday May 18, live on Sky Sports Box Office. Book the fight now.
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