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‘I took a punch from Tyson Fury – what happened next shows his true colours’

Tyson Fury is a mean punching machine when he is in the ring, but few have seen what he is really like behind the scenes after he is done punching you

Tyson Fury could not get the better of Oleksandr Usyk in Saudi Arabia (
Image: PA)

Micah Richards has found himself in many situations – but he may not have expected to be tensing his whole body while Tyson Fury unleashed punch after punch on him.

Before his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk, Fury, 36, used the former Manchester City star as his very own famous punchbag. Fortunately for Richards, Fury was not trying to take his head off, as it was all part of a skit for Season 19 of A League of Their Own, which returns this Thursday at 9pm.

At the time, Fury was not yet the killer he had turned himself into when he cut himself off from his family for three months and grew a scraggly beard to transport himself to a terrifying dark place.

The former WBC heavyweight champion unloaded a flurry of punches on the squirming former England international whose feet were not even touching the floor at the time. Nevertheless, a punch or 20 from a heavyweight boxer will always hurt, even if they are not thrown with the same venom.

In an exclusive interview with Mirror Fighting, Richards, with his famous cheeky grin, said in jest: “To be honest, I thought he was going to hit me harder. He actually went a bit soft.

“It was really nice meeting him away from elite sport. Sometimes, if you saw him at a boxing match, he might say, ‘Hello’, but he is in ‘the zone’ isn’t he.

“To see him out of work and just so humble and nice, he was like a big friendly giant. Some people come on this show and you might think they’ll be really funny or really angry.

Poor Richards was helpless as Fury unleashed hell on him
“Whatever it may be, it could be a sporting legend, but I was really intrigued to see what he was going to be like, but he is so humble. It was certainly a big draw, getting him on – he is unbelievable.”

Fury has never been averse to a talk show appearance, having also appeared on the Jonathan Ross Show in the past. Despite all of the gruelling training he put himself through, Fury was not able to avenge his split-decision defeat against Usyk.

The Ukrainian not only emerged from Saudi Arabia with his titles again, he won by an even bigger margin, with all three judges awarding the bout to him with matching scorecards of 16-12. Fury and his promoter Frank Warren were furious with the result and both claimed Fury was the one who deserved to have his arm raised.

It was all smiles at the end ( 
Image:
Sky UK Limited ©)

While Richards did not go as far as saying Fury was the winner, he did not believe the Manchester United supporter was the loser. Richards added: “Obviously, the fights with Oleksandr Usyk have not gone the way he expected, certainly in that second fight.

“I thought it was at least a draw. But to get him on, was massive, I’m a massive fan of him. With everything he has gone through, to fight at that level, was inspirational.”