Tyson Fury shocked the boxing world last month when he appeared on WWE Smackdown Live's debut on Fox and confronted Superstar Braun Strowman, setting up a match at the upcoming Crown Jewel.
Fury didn't even tell his promoter Frank Warren or his team about his plans, knowing that he would be told not to take the risk of having a WWE match.
"Nobody knew about it until afterwards, until I appeared on Smackdown in the Staples Center," Fury told Digital Spy and other outlets ahead of Crown Jewel.
"So it was already too late by then. I didn't tell [my team]. They would have advised me not to do it."
Stepping into a WWE ring is a huge risk for Fury, especially as he's scheduled to fight Deontay Wilder in February. But an offer from WWE was too exciting for the boxer to turn down.
"I didn't take a lot of persuading," Fury said. "I got the phone call for this venture at 7pm on a Wednesday evening, I was on a plane by 6 o'clock in the morning the following day. So I didn't take a lot of persuading. Almost not at all, if any."
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"I think it's great for me and my life and my career. It's something that I've always wanted to do," he added. "If I get injured, I get injured."
Fury grew up as a WWE fan, so the chance to have a match in a WWE ring appears to be a bucket list item for him and it's also allowed him to meet a lot of the Superstars he idolised growing up.
"I grew up watching it from a little boy, watching it on TV with my brothers and my family," Fury said.
"I grew up to be a successful boxer, then 20 or 30 years later I've been invited to go and see these Superstars I used to watch on TV and envy and they were my heroes.
"Now I can go backstage and chill with all those guys and go to the bar and have a beer with Ric Flair.
"Is that not a life experience? Who wouldn't want to do that? So I'm living my best life."
And for Fury, his WWE debut stands up with any of his career highlights. "It was amazing," he said.
"It was a sold-out Staples Center, a lot of people saw it around the world. It's been great coverage for me and it felt good. You know, it felt just as good as being involved in any other combat sports or entertainment sector on TV or in front of a live audience."
WWE Crown Jewel takes place on October 31 and airs live in the UK at 4pm on the WWE Network and Sky Sports Box Office.
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Reporter, Digital Spy
Stephanie is a freelance news writer, who previously covered WWE and AEW for Digital Spy.
After graduating with a degree in history from Queen Mary University, London, she studied journalism at Birkbeck University.
Outside of her work at Digital Spy, she writes about pop culture, with a special focus towards Irish media and how it intersects with politics.
You can read more of her work on her Substack page.
