Tyson Fury title-winning fight of 2015 nearly sabotaged by Wladimir Klitschko trick… until legendary ringmaster Mike Goodall saved the day
BRITISH boxing has been propped up by Ringmaster Mike Goodall for almost 40 years and Tyson Fury will be forever in his debt.
As the Gypsy King returns after nearly three years away, SunSport can reveal his crowning glory over Wladimir Klitschko would almost certainly have ended in defeat if not for Goodall’s intervention.
The 70-year-old former MC and promoter is a permanent fixture at every Anthony Joshua stadium spectacular and York hall slugfest.
On Wednesday he set the stage for Lawrence Okolie vs Luke Watkins at Bethnal Green's boxing mecca and his meticulous handiwork will be on show for Fury's comeback tomorrow.
It is two years and seven months since Peter Fury called Goodhall from Dusseldorf, panic-stricken that heavyweight king Klitschko had doctored the hometown ring to scupper his nephew.
But Goodall, a veteran of an estimated 60,000 fights - from white collar and amateur to world title and MMA - saved the day.
And it is just one of his brilliant memories as Fury prepares for his long-awaited comeback against Sefer Seferi.
Goodall, looking back over a catalogue of brilliant photos from his career, told SunSport: “The first thing they did was phone me.
WHYTE 'N WRONG Dillian Whyte slates Tyson Fury for Sefer Seferi fight and says Gypsy King is fighting a ‘scrub’
"Peter Fury called me and asked ‘what can we do about it?’ I told them to get straight on to the commission and tell them it’s unsafe, it needs to be ripped up.
“It was a Klitschko tactic, he had been training for the whole fight on rings that thick.
MOST READ IN BOXING
“Anyone would usually be all over the place on it but he would have gotten used to it after a 12-week training camp he would have been alright.
“But along comes Tyson Fury and gets on it and he would have been all over the place, he would have been beaten before it started.
“The rule now in this country now is you are allowed one inch of high density foam, Klitschko was trying to get away with about two inches of thick sponge.
“I told them to get on to the commission and tell them it is unsafe and Tyson will fall and twist an ankle or a knee and they did.
“I saw the photos of it afterwards and it was terrible, thick unconstituted foam, it was terrible.”
How to claim your FREE £10 bet
1 Register for Sun Bets here
2 Bet £5 or more
3 Sun Bets will stick a £10 bet in your account