Can Tyson Fury and Derek Chisora put on a real show after setting friendships aside?

Forget friendships, previous fights and form because Tyson Fury and Derek Chisora have agreed a secret deal to stand and fight on Saturday night. It would be nice.

Fury and Chisora have fought twice, both for the British heavyweight title and Fury won both times; Fury on points in 2011 and in 2014, Chisora was pulled out at the end of ten rounds. They have a rivalry and they also have a friendship.

The fight on Saturday is for Fury’s WBC heavyweight title and 60,000 people have bought tickets at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium; in April, Fury fought and won in front of 95,000 at Wembley. They are astounding numbers.

Fury and Chisora arranged the fight a few months ago during a phone call. Fury needed an opponent and Chisora wanted the fight. This week they have been respectful, embraced, shook hands and, at the same time, insisted that they will put on a real show. They shook hands on delivering “something unforgettable”. It has been an odd mood without a trace of animosity, but there is still the inevitable tension that dominates a room when two men with giant egos are close to each other; the smiles at Thursday’s press conference were growing weaker by the minute.

The bloody sport of boxing has always been a contradiction, a sport where decent men often have to hurt each other and where friends have to forget about friendships and fight. Not all fighters are social savages, hateful, spiteful and nasty humans. It is, after all, just a business.

The pair hinted that a deal was in place to deliver a great start to the fight; in late 2020 behind closed doors, Chisora met Oleksandr Usyk and clearly won the first couple of rounds. Usyk seemed bemused by Chisora’s marauding style. Chisora has fought 45 times, lost 12 and is, even at 38, capable of a last stand. And, by the way, that doesn’t mean he will win, it just means that he will make it ugly and uncomfortable for Fury on a winter’s night. Chisora can do that and Fury knows that. Fury is obviously an overwhelming favourite, but this is not a comedy fight.

This was not the first- or the second-choice fight for Fury’s defence. It is a fight made real by a confederation of inevitable problems, claims and trickery. There was bold talk, dates and deals with both Anthony Joshua and Usyk, but they stalled, vanished and collapsed. Chisora was always a possibility, always waiting in the shadows as the talks fell silent. Fury is a true fighting man, living by some type of ancient fighting code and it is not a surprise that he likes Chisora and abuses Joshua and Usyk; he thinks Usyk and Joshua let him and the code down. “They are both s***houses,” Fury said again and again.

Fury has been forced back to the ring to survive after quitting the sport earlier this year; he admitted that he needed the fights, the grind and the routine of being a boxer. He also admitted that thoughts of suicide have once again been in his head. “I only started to like it again two weeks ago; I need a real job,” he said. His ring exile always seemed to divide opinion, but I truly believe that his vow to walk away was as genuine as his need to continue. Fury’s mental health issues are real, not like an ugly overcoat he can choose to wear.

Fury has a slimmed-down team and a slimmed-down body, which is to be expected as it seems he has been in the gym daily since about June. Andy Lee, a central part of the training team, is sitting this fight out. Lee and SugarHill Steward, who will be in the corner, transformed Fury in early 2020. They were very much a duo, two men with a deep history shared in the Kronk gym in Detroit; the pair made Fury a Kronk fighter.

Fury and Chisora will walk earlier than normal, which is a sensible concession to the winter night, and the first bell should be shortly after 9.30pm on Saturday. Usyk, incidentally, will be ringside to accept the winner’s challenge. Fury against Usyk seems destined for the Middle East before June next year. Usyk’s men are heavy on the ground trying to get a deal done, which could be seen as disrespectful to Chisora. It’s not, it’s just business.

Chisora will not fall over, he will not quit and he will have success. “This will not be easy,” promised Fury. “I don’t want it to be easy.” The harsh truth is that Fury can make it easy and once the fun and games and emotional entrances have finished, he probably will.