THOMPSON LOVING VEGAS VOYAGE
Cruiserweight prospect Jordan Thompson jumped at the chance when the offer of teaming up with Team Fury came along to help Tyson prepare for the second chapter of his story with WBC world champion Deontay Wilder.
The strapping former tennis professional, who is 10-0 as a boxing pro, considers himself the ideal physical doppelgänger of the tall, slim, explosive Wilder, who Fury is devising a game plan to topple in Las Vegas on February 22 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, live on BT Sport Box Office.
“It was a pretty quick turnaround,” said the 26-year-old known as ‘Troublesome’. “I’ve always thought that, for anyone who is fighting Wilder, I am literally a carbon copy of the man. I am 6ft 6/7”, 15 and a half stone when I am walking around, so I am a replica.
“I mentioned it to my management and then I got a text on the Monday before I came out asking if I wanted sparring with Fury. I thought ‘I’d love that’ and then they said it is in Vegas – even better!
“I had to sort a few things out for work and by the Saturday I was on the plane.
“It is such an unbelievable experience, I can’t stress that enough.”
So if Thompson shares Wilder’s dimensions, does that make him – in the words of Tyson – a spaghetti-legged big noodle?
“Nah, not really… I like to think I am a bit sharper and a better boxer than Wilder. In terms of physical attributes we are similar, but I’d like to think I’ve got better legs than him because his are skinny!
“I’d like to think I’ve got a right hand like him though.
“Tyson is doing well and is a very, very nice guy. They have all been very welcoming and have offered me advice and stuff like that. I knew Tyson and his family a little bit before I came out so we all clicked and his younger brothers are not far from where I was in Manchester.
“We have had some good laughs, while his coach has given me some second-to-none advice and I have been like a sponge taking it all in and learning every time I get in the ring.
“I even watch Tyson on the bag as he is a similar size to me and he uses it very well. The stuff I am picking up over here I am keen to put into practice,” added Thompson, who believes Tyson is bonding well with new trainer SugarHill Steward.
“I think it is going well and they have a good working relationship. Tyson has the body type where the Kronk legacy fits him perfectly, with everything being off the jab and that is Tyson. They have a good level of respect for each other and I think it is a two-way relationship not dominated by one person.
“They have got a good thing going and it will be interesting to see how it all plays out on the night. He is in tip-top shape, I can tell you that.”
