CON SHEEHAN SAYS his experience of sparring with Tyson Fury has been “an eye-opener in the best possible way” after the Clonmel native was drafted in by Fury to assist in his preparations for his rematch with Wladimir Klitschko.
Fury — the Linear, WBA Super, WBO, IBO and Ring Magazine world heavyweight champion — will put his titles on the line against Klitschko in Manchester on 9 July, having dethroned the Ukrainian in Dusseldorf back in November.
As he continues his preparations for the bout at a training camp in Amsterdam, Fury’s team contacted Sheehan’s manager Gary Hyde about bringing the six-time Irish senior champion in as a sparring partner. Sheehan told The42 today that he “grabbed the opportunity with both hands without hesitation.”
“It’s been an eye-opener but not because I felt way out of my depth. It’s just the whole experience of being in there with him. You get to see what a good boxer he actually is because he’s a lot better than what people realise when they’re watching on TV,” Sheehan said.
With Sheehan still in the early stages of his professional career, the 27-year-old explained that sparring with Fury has given him an indication of what’s required to make it to the very top, which is where he’s intent on going.
“Of course,” he said. “It shows you exactly what it takes. He’s training like an animal. I can’t get my head around how he’s able to move the way he does for such a big man. He’s absolutely flying through it and he’s still a long way out from the fight.”
Sheehan added: “He’s given me lots of advice, just about boxing in general. It’s great, we’ve been getting along really well and I’m looking forward to the next few weeks.”
Since making his professional debut back in January when he picked up a unanimous-decision win against Jonathan Rice in Los Angeles, Sheehan has endured a frustrating lay-off as he waited to secure a visa to allow him to continue to compete in the US.
That issue has now been sorted, however, so after five more weeks as part of Team Fury, Sheehan plans to return to California to train under Virgil Hunter for a bout which is tentatively scheduled for the first two weeks of July, with a date and opponent yet to be confirmed.
“I’m mad to get back at it now,” Sheehan said. “It’s hard when you’re training with no fight date in mind. It can be tough to get up for it but that’s all okay now so I can’t wait to push on again.”
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