Tyson Fury vows to get ‘serious’ ahead of Francesco Pianeta showdown

Tyson Fury has vowed to get “serious” against Francesco Pianeta when he bids to secure a fight with WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder.

America’s Wilder will be ringside for the second fight of Fury’s comeback at Belfast’s Windsor Park, and is ready to confirm a November date in Las Vegas against the former WBO, WBA and IBF champion should, as expected, he succeed.

When Fury returned after a near-three-year absence against the little-known Sefer Seferi in June, a farcical affair unfolded in which he won in four rounds despite fighting with minimal intent and regularly interacting with the crowd.

Four such unambitious rounds means the prospect of fighting the dangerous Wilder represents a significant risk, particularly having also rarely worked with new trainer Ben Davison, but it is also too tempting for the 30-year-old to resist.

Saturday’s fight against Germany’s Pianeta, 33, is therefore the finest chance he will have of regaining the sharpness he had before his lengthy lay-off, and he said: “Ben wants a serious approach for this fight and that’s what he’ll get. It’s all business in Belfast.

“Everything has gone great, and if Ben wants me to be serious about this fight then I will be serious.

“I’m not normally serious about anything in my life, everything is fun and games – even (defeating Wladimir) Klitschko. I wasn’t serious – I was doing dance moves, everything. But Ben wants this serious, he will get serious.

“I’ll go in there and do my job and that’s it. I won’t even smile once.

“I feel totally rejuvenated; I’m even talking better.”

In the main event in Belfast, Carl Frampton defends his interim WBO featherweight title against Australia’s Luke Jackson, and IBF champion Josh Warrington will similarly be ringside amid plans for him to next fight the Northern Irishman.

A 25,000-strong crowd is expected at Windsor Park, and the 31-year-old Frampton said: “Jackson won’t have experienced an atmosphere like Belfast can create. It’s hard enough in front of 9,000 at the SSE Arena so just think how tough it’s going to be for Jackson to fight a hometown boy at Windsor Park.

“It’s going to be so tough. It might make him fold or it might gee him up, but one thing’s for sure, it won’t be easy for him.”

Jackson, 33, remains undefeated in 16 fights but has never fought outside of his home country, and he told Press Association Sport: “If I win this fight, we’re all going to make some money, and that’s what it’s all about.

“I want to set up my family and my family’s future. I want everything Carl’s got; if I can make it happen on Saturday night, my life changes.

“My life’s good now, but when I was growing up it wasn’t so good. I got involved in drugs, and had some mental health issues (in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). Life is good, but I want to make it better.”