Daily Times

LONDON: Hughie Fury wants to win the world heavyweight crown in front of his home fans in Manchester and bring them ‘some light’ in the wake of the ‘darkness’ of Monday’s suicide bombing that killed 22 and wounded dozens. The 22-year-old – who is the cousin of troubled former heavyweight world champion Tyson Fury – is the mandatory challenger for New Zealand’s WBO titleholder Joseph Parker. He is eyeing a date in September after his first tilt at Parker in Auckland on May 6th had to be abandoned because the English pugilist had a back injury – the Kiwi eased to a unanimous points victory over Fury’s replacement Razvan Cojanu. Fury, who has an unblemished record of 20 wins including 10 by knockout, wants to have the bout at the Manchester Arena, the venue where the suicide bombing by Salman Abedi took place – provided it is fit for purpose by then. “My hope is that fighting in front of Manchester fans for the world title would help give the city some light after the darkness,” he told ‘The Sun on Sunday’. “But even though I’m a fighter and go into the ring and take punches, the real heroes are the victims’ families who will now have to show incredible bravery to carry on with their everyday lives. The one thing that has really showed me the love and compassion of the people in the city, is how they have all pulled together in this terrible time.” Fury, who has yet to fight in Manchester, said the lift Manchester United’s 2-0 victory over Dutch side Ajax in the Europa League final on Wednesday had showed how sport could help in the rebuilding process. “Sport is such a big part of the city,” said Fury.