Eddie Chambers says watching Tyson Fury and Dillian Whyte sparring “shocked the hell” out of him some seven years ago.
The veteran former world heavyweight title challenger was also in camp back in 2013 when Fury was preparing for a planned showdown with David Haye which was eventually cancelled.
The rumours since then have been rife about what actually happened inside the ropes – Fury claims he manhandled Whyte while ‘The Body Snatcher’ says he “bashed” Fury about and “put him on his bottom”.
Now – ahead of Whyte’s massive showdown with Alexander Povetkin on Saturday night (August 22) – Chambers has spoken to Sky Sports to reveal what he saw in that infamous camp.
“The sparring shocked the hell out of me when I first got there and they got in the ring to spar,” said Chambers.
“I’m looking and I’m like: ‘Okay, Fury hasn’t got a cup on, he hasn’t got headgear on, he’s in the ring. Oh, he’s going to put it on when he’s in there’. He never put one of them on. What the heck is this? I’ve never seen it before, so I’m like ‘wow’ is this how he really sparred?
“I talked to the guys and they told me. So I think Dillian jumped in and Dillian’s not taking anything off [his punches], he’s trying to go at it. I just saw Tyson boxing so comfortably. But it’s still to me, I’m still looking like, ‘yeah he ain’t that good, wait until I get in the ring with him’.
“The sparring did get really, really intense at times. But Tyson is just a masterful boxer, even at that point, he was just really starting to get that super-high level and top conditioning and all of that. You could see it.
“He was really turning it up. But it was good, it was great to see. To be able to be in there for free, actually getting paid to watch stuff like that. When you’re an athlete and you’re at the highest level, you’ve got to admire and just enjoy the fact that you can be in range of greatness and seeing the stuff go on around you, and you be a part of it as well. It’s nice.”
So did Whyte really put Fury “on his bottom”? Chambers can’t be sure but he does know both men had success.
“I didn’t see the knockdown, so I can’t really say he might have put him down, but I can say both things probably were true. There were times that I don’t think Dillian laid a glove on him.
“But there was other times where I saw Dillian pressing him, bringing big shots, so there was some success.”
Fury and Whyte may of course meet in the coming months, with Whyte having spent more than 1000 days as mandatory contender for the WBC world heavyweight title now held by Fury.
BOOK NOW ????@DillianWhyte vs Alexander Povetkin and @KatieTaylor vs Delfine Persoon 2 in finale of #FightCamp on Aug 22, live on Sky Sports Box Office ????
— Sky Sports Boxing (@SkySportsBoxing) August 7, 2020
Whyte must overcome Povetkin first – no easy task given the veteran Russian’s impressive CV. The bout takes place at Matchroom Fight Camp on Saturday August 22 and will be aired live on Sky Sports Box Office in the UK (price: £19.95) and by DAZN in their nine markets (United States, Canada, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Japan, Brazil, Italy and Spain).
If Whyte does prevail, he will face the winner of Fury vs Deontay Wilder 3. It is still hoped that bout can take place in the United States on Saturday December 19, if COVID-19 regulations ease enough for a crowd to be in attendance.
