I’m the only man to ‘beat’ Tyson Fury – now I’m working in rubbish clearance after bitter end to boxing career

THE ONLY MAN to “beat” Tyson Fury is now doing something very different after earning “less than minimum wage” for fighting the superstar.

The Gypsy King will try to unify the heavyweight division THIS WEEKEND when he faces Oleksandr Usyk.

After Fury suffered a nasty gash above his right eye in sparring earlier this year, the fight was postponed from February 17 to this Saturday in Saudi Arabia.

Fury has the WBC title around his waist, while Usyk possesses the WBA, WBO, IBF and Ring Magazine straps.

Both fighters are putting their undefeated professional records on the line as well in the Middle East.

However, there is one fighter who gets referred to as the man who “beat” Fury – although he now does something a million miles away from boxing.

That person is John McDermott, who fought then 21-year-old Gypsy King in just the now champ’s 11th pro fight.

The 44-year-old took on Fury to determine the new English heavyweight title holder in September 2009.

McDermott was a seasoned pro with 25 wins and five losses and he rocked Fury in the eighth in what appeared to be a one-sided contest.

But, much to his and everyone else’s disbelief, it was Fury who had his hand raised after it went to the scorecards.

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“I definitely won it, mate,” McDermott told The Times.

“I don’t know how the referee scored it eight rounds to him and two to me. Fury didn’t say a word.

“I was literally waiting in the changing room for someone to come and say, ‘There’s been a mistake.’

“I was in the car park and Fury’s dad came up to me and said, ‘I thought you won that, mate, we were lucky to get the decision.’ He didn’t have to say that, did he? It changed my career really.”

McDermott, who got paid £15,000 for that fight, got his shot at redemption in a rematch the following June.

This time McDermott was floored in the eighth round before he was eventually stopped in the following round.

He said: “He had improved and I came in too light. My trainer, Jim McDonnell, wanted me to move quicker, but he was two stone heavier.

“Every time I got close he just grabbed me and kept leaning on me. By the eighth I had nothing left.

“I’m not saying it would have changed things, but two weeks before I had glandular fever. They cancelled the fight three times in a year. I was training all that time and not earning a penny.

“I said to my wife, ‘I can’t fight but I can’t afford not to.” 

McDermott has since gone to to become a footnote in boxing, winning three of his next four fights before retiring in 2013 after finally becoming English heavyweight champion.

McDermott, who is married with three daughters, lives in his native Essex and now works in rubbish clearance.

He said: “I made 25 grand from fighting him. I didn’t earn enough to buy a house.

“Two fights a year, usually 15 grand each, minimum wage innit? I was not bitter at Tyson Fury when I stopped, but I was at the sport. I still am.”

Meanwhile, Fury, who is married to wife Paris with the couple having seven children together, has gone on to become a multi-millionaire and is due to be paid around £116m for his bout against Usyk.

And he has been tipped to get his hand raised again by the man who came so close to taking his unbeaten record all those years ago.

McDermott added: “I think he will win it. I think it’s going to be a boring fight.

“I think that’s the only way Fury can win. A lot of people think he will outbox Usyk, but I don’t think he can.

“I think he’ll break him down over time, land big heavy punches up the middle, and stop him in the later rounds. Good luck to him.”

TYSON FURY VS OLEKSANDR USYK: ALL THE DETAILS YOU NEED AHEAD OF HUGE UNDISPUTED HEAVYWEIGHT BOUT

Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk