Tyson Fury's 'Sauna Story' Proved Why He Is The Master Of Psychological Mind Games

Tyson Fury showed why he can wager an elite level of psychological warfare when he freaked out Wladimir Klitschko ahead of their blockbuster championship clash in 2015.

The 'Gypsy King,' 31, created a stunning upset when he stripped the then-mighty Klitschko of the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, IBO, The Ring and lineal heavyweight titles in Germany.

But Fury engaged in a full-on psychological battle with the 43-year-old Ukrainian and left him stunned when he told him about their 'sauna incident.'

The former unified heavyweight champ appeared opposite of Klitschko on an episode of The Gloves Are Off ahead of their bout.

And Fury recalled a story several years ago of how he claimed a "mental victory" over Klitschko when they were in a sauna.

"I'm at his [Klitschko] training camp, there's about ten guys in the sauna," he explained.

"It came down to me and Wlad in the sauna. Do you remember?

"It gets down to us two and -- I've only had 12 or 13 fights at this point -- but still, in my mind I was mentally in a competition with him.

"I was prepared to die in that sauna before I got out. I stayed in for like 40 minutes.

"He got out first. I thought 'mental victory.'"

Klitschko had a bewildered look on his face when Fury asked him if he remembered the incident, but there's no denying that the superstar Brit was living rent-free in his head during their pre-fight coverage.

And fans were convinced that Fury had 'mentally broken' Klitschko after he told him the story.

YouTube user The Truth wrote: "You could tell Wlad knew what he was talking about, but was definitely not going to admit to anything."

While another fight fan posted: "'Who got out first?' That long pause was the funniest thing I've ever seen! He didn't want to admit he left before Tyson. Poor guy was already mentally broken."

Jim Freemsn said: "This is a video that should be shown to non-fight fans to get a glimpse of how competitive fighters are."

Another added: "I love how Fury waits and gives Klitschko the chance to answer himself. Awesome guy."

The 'Gypsy King' would once again bring up the story ahead of his initial bout against Deontay Wilder in 2018.

Featured Image Credit: The Gloves Are Off

Topics: Dr Steelhammer, Tyson Fury, Boxing News, Boxing, Gypsy King, Germany, Wladimir Klitschko, YouTube

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

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