Lingerie-loving Ebanie Bridges decries ‘double standards’ as Tyson Fury trains in underwear – only to find out reason for stunt

World heavyweight boxing king Tyson Fury has been called out for training in his underwear as female Aussie ring star Ebanie Bridges made claims of “double standards” – before being enlightened on the real reason behind the move.

WBC world heavyweight champ Fury is stepping up his training in the US as he prepares for a blockbuster ‘Battle of Britain’ title unifier with Anthony Joshua later this year.  

‘The Gypsy King’, 32, shared footage on social media of himself working the pads with trainer SugarHill Steward this week, scantily dressed in a pair of bright red underpants.

“Practice makes perfect, imagine [Anthony Joshua’s] face getting smashed up with these clean rights,” wrote the lineal heavyweight champ.

But Fury’s punching power wasn’t the focus for some fans, who instead opted to comment on his ringwear – or rather lack of.

“Why does Fury always insist on posting video of himself training only in his pants?” questioned one fan, before bringing up busty Aussie bantamweight Bridges, known for her underwear-clad appearances at weigh-ins.    

“If he looked like [Ebanie Bridges] I wouldn’t mind, but…. #putsomeclotheson.”

Bridges – who recently failed in her world title bid against Britain’s Shannon Courtenay in a crowd-pleasing slugfest – soon picked up on the message.

“Haha imagine I trained in just my pants?” wrote the Aussie fighter, adding the hashtag ‘doublestandards’ and a laughing emoji.

Much has been made of Bridges’ own underwear antics on the scales ahead of her contests, as rival Courtenay claimed she was making making a mockery of women’s boxing.

Courtenay went on to defeat Bridges via unanimous decision after a 10-round battle earlier this month which earned both fighters praise for their durability, as well as leaving Bridges with a grotesquely swollen eye. 

But Bridges’ comments on Fury soon backfired, as fans clamored to explain that the Brit has frequently trained in his underwear in recent years to raise awareness for testicular cancer.

“I wear these funky shorts in public a lot and I wore them today because they represent a company called Oddballs,” said Fury back in 2018.

“Every penny spent on these pants goes to research to fight testicular cancer. A friend of mine went through it recently, and I want to spread awareness for him and this cause.”

Former trainer Ben Davison has also explained: “One of our close friends had testicular cancer recently so although people say he’s crazy wearing his underwear in the ring, there’s always a reason; he has a very big heart.”

Belatedly realizing her mistake, Bridges tweeted: “Ahh it’s for charity apparently, testicular cancer” – adding a series of ‘handclap’ emojis.

Others rounded on the account which made the original comments, asking: “Why would it be ok for Ebanie to do it but not a bloke? Doesn't come across well that mate.”

“I was being flippant and factious. Obviously something you are unaware of. Ebanie appeared to see the funny side,” wrote the fan in a tetchy response.

Weighing in again, Bridges herself claimed the whole conversation was “for bantz”.

“I think it’s great he trains in his undies, [it] makes it more acceptable when I decide to train in mine,” added the 34-year-old blonde pugilist.  

The bizarre Twitter tiff is unlikely to have come to the attention of Fury as he concentrates on his highly-awaited superfight with WBA, IBF WBO and IBO world champion Joshua.

Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn has asserted that the match-up is a “done deal” – with Saudi Arabia expected to be the venue – despite claims from Fury’s promoter Bob Arum this week that it was “dead in the water” for July or August.

That raised fears that Fury could look to fight elsewhere before meeting Joshua, 31, even though contracts were signed last month, contingent on a venue being agreed.

“ No disrespect to Bob, he’s an incredible promoter, he hasn’t been involved in a site deal of this magnitude before," Hearn told Sky Sports on Friday.  

“There's no new deadline. The deal is done, the fighters have agreed to the site, the numbers, they've signed the contract already.

"We just have to nail the site agreement, which is again agreed, but we have to go through the process.

"The deadline is last weekend or something, but you don't let a deal fall through because it's taking a few more days than anticipated."

Fury and Joshua will reportedly bag at least $75 million each for the bout, which is expected to be the first of a double-header between the undefeated Manchester fighter and the Watford-born former Olympic gold medalist.