Germany: Romani heritage boxer Tyson Fury will fight the legendary Klitschko on Saturday

On the evening of Saturday 28 November the boxer Tyson Fury, who is proud of his Romani roots, and Wladimir Klitschko, a modern legend of pro boxing, will face off at the Esprit Arena boxing ring in Düsseldorf. "I think this will be one of my easiest fights. I know that sounds crazy, because he’s a super champion, but I see many chinks in his armor," Fury recently told The Guardian.

Despite this self-confident declaration, Fury acknowledges that he became nervous once he arrived in Germany. "It all came home to me after I flew into the city and saw those gigantic posters everywhere. Now I really feel sucked into the fight and I’m nervous. I’ve never felt like this before," the heavyweight said openly, who holds a record 24 out of 24 matches, 18 of which were knockouts.

Fury was born in Manchester into a family of Irish Travellers. His father named him after world champion Mike Tyson.

Klitschko’s challenger is proud of his Romani origin and has not forgotten where he comes from, even though he now lives in a big house of his own. "I am proud of who I am," he says of his heritage.

"I’m glad I’m Romani. My Traveller origins have given me determination and the will to win, to keep going until I touch rock bottom. There is no defeatism in me. Because I am a Traveller I never have any regrets. I know what I have to do and how to go on living," Fury says resolutely.

Rom or Traveller?

Travellers once represented an originally itinerant, non-Romani population whose livelihoods depended on travelling and who probably existed in the British Isles prior to the arrival of the first Roma at the beginning of the 16th century. Since the Roma and Travellers led similar lifestyles, their interdependence was deepened through mixed marriages and today they are perceived essentially as members of the same group by the majority society.