‘There’s so much bullsh*t with all this’: Tyson Fury refuses second Covid jab ahead of Wilder trilogy fight

Undefeated WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury has admitted his reluctance at taking a second Covid-19 immunization jab until after he fights Deontay Wilder on October 9, amid fears that it could distract from his preparations.

Fury and Wilder will throw down for a third time next month in a fight in which much of the boxing fraternity sees as Fury's final hurdle before securing a the biggest heavyweight unification title fight in a generation against fellow Brit Anthony Joshua.

But ahead of the contest, Wilder's infamous right hand isn't the only shot that 'The Gypsy King' is wary of as he prepares for the defense of his WBC crown. 

Speaking to BoxingScene, Fury said that he had concerns as to how his body might react to a second Covid jab so close to the pivotal bout with Wilder – despite the fight already having been postponed due to a Covid-19 outbreak within Fury's camp, including the fighter himself testing positive. 

"You never can tell," said Fury of his concerns. "There’s so much bullsh*t with all this, stories that go around, you never know what’s the truth and what’s not. So, I’m not in the risk-taking game. I’m in a serious, life-threatening job, where you can get your lights knocked out with one punch. 

"And if [a second shot] was to affect me in any way, then I’d never live with me self before a big fight. But when the fight’s over, and it haven’t affected me, I’ll have time to recover from it all. But I wouldn’t go now and have me injection, not knowing what’s gonna happen next week, because I’ve got much business on.

"And it not only would affect my career, but affect my family’s future earnings and taking food out of me family’s mouth. So, when the boxing’s over in the minute, I can go and get me vaccine, second shot, and we’ll see how we go from there. But yeah, for now, I’m just gonna stick with one until after the fight."

Fury also stated that the Covid diagnosis he received which temporarily derailed his third fight with the hard-hitting American was his SECOND infection with the potentially deadly virus, and said that his 2020 battle with Covid was worse than his more recent one.

That said, Fury said that he does intend to receive his second shot to protect him from the virus once his business with Wilder in Las Vegas is tended to.

"It’s killed a lot of people in the world," said Fury of Covid-19. "And if the vaccine helps, then get it done, you know? I had me first vaccine back in I think July or June in Miami. And I was supposed to go back and have another one after the Wilder fight. But I ended up getting Covid and flew back home [to England] after 10 days. And I’ll be having my vaccine, the second shot, after the Wilder fight."

As for Wilder, 'The Bronze Bomber' says that both he and his team have been fully vaccinated for some time, and stated that he saw it as a necessary step towards safeguarding the fight – but he admitted that each person must make their own decisions.

"Well, you can’t tell grown people what to do," Wilder said of the vaccine push. "You know, it’s hard to try to. I can only say that what’s going in the world and what we’re going through with it, it’s something new to us all, all around the world. And a lot of people are frightened [of] what they have heard, or what’s been going on.

"So, you know, for me, we thought it would a great idea for us, my whole team, just to get vaccinated, just in case. You know, it’s always a just-in-case factor. As you can see, my fight was already postponed once again due to, you know, the claims of this situation. But we just thought it would be a great idea.

"So, you know, for me, my advice to all other fighters, if you’re comfortable with it, go do it. Get it done, you know? And if you’re not, then, you know, you take your own, your judgments on that."