Wednesday 13 December 2017 19:43, UK
Tyson Fury is a misunderstood man whose lust for fighting will see him return to the ring next year, says prospective opponent Tony Bellew.
Fury, who has not fought since dethroning Wladimir Klitschko in 2015, is free to pursue a comeback after accepting a two-year backdated ban from UK Anti-Doping which expired on December 12.
But the 6ft 9in Wilmslow fighter remains without a licence, although the British Boxing Board of Control confirmed on Wednesday the renewal of Fury's boxing licence will be considered next month.
Bellew said he expects Fury to be back in action before next summer and thinks the lure of being involved in a titanic domestic showdown will prove too good for the 29-year-old to resist.
"I think Tyson Fury is a very misunderstood man," Bellew told Sky Sports News.
"He's a quiet loving family man - not a role model by any stretch of the imagination - but he is someone who has achieved his dream, and I understand 100 per cent how that feels.
"To achieve your lifelong dream and then to find the hunger to go back and do it all over again is very, very hard.
"I achieved my dream at Goodison Park winning the world title and I could have happily walked away after. The financial gain is what drove me after Goodison Park.
"I've dealt with that and now it's about the big fights and leaving some kind of legacy but I only want huge fights to do that.
"Tyson Fury achieved his dream very similar to what I did and I feel for him now it's [also] about the financial gains and also about being in the big fights.
"He's a fighting man, there are no two ways about that. Tyson Fury can fight. He is a really good fighter and he has a lust for fighting."
Before a prospective showdown against Fury, Bellew must first get past David Haye in a rescheduled rematch on May 5.
Haye pulled out of two fights against Fury due to injury and was originally set for a second encounter with Bellew this weekend only for a bicep injury to scupper those plans.
Bellew is convinced Haye will be fit for the rearranged bout in May and has vowed to end the South Londoner's career.
"I have 100 per cent given him ample time to be prepared fully," Bellew said.
"It's going to have been 14 months [since the first fight] by the time we get in that ring. I have given him every possible opportunity I can.
"People say I only beat him because of injury, well this time I have given him ample time. If he pulls out now the deal is dead, it's gone, it's over.
"It was a freak incident [Haye's bicep injury] but I cannot afford for that to happen again. I really can't.
"But I 100 per cent believe David Haye will get in that ring on May 5. And on May 5 I will end his career."
