Tyson Fury is scheduled to take on Wladimir Klitschko in Dusseldorf tonight with WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO titles on the line.
However, Fury is threatening to pull out of the fight due to the condition of the ring. The 27-year-old believes the canvas to be too soft, a factor which could slow him down and favour the Ukrainian.
Fury's agent, Asif Vali, told the Press Association that the Esprit Arena ring has a five inch underlay.
This is pretty serious news. The foam underlay is too soft. It’s five inches thick, which doesn’t help a big lad going into a ring. We’ve never seen canvas like this before. It’s too much from a health and safety point of view, because he can easily do [damage to] his ankle. Usually there’s only a two-inch foam, and that’s it. This is between five and six inches.
He also informed that should the situation remain unchanged, the fight is in danger of not taking place.
They need to change it. If they don’t change, then we have a problem. If it is not resolved, the fight is in serious jeopardy of being off.
A cynical observer might suggest Fury is already attempting to create mitigating circumstances surrounding what many - including the bookmakers - believe should be an easy victory for Klitschko.
Should the fight take place, Fury is expected to make £5 million.
