I was robbed of beating Tyson Fury – now he's worth £70million and I'm a rubbish clearer

A heavyweight boxer who was “robbed” of beating Tyson Fury is now a rubbish clearer.

WBC champion Fury has dominated the heavyweight division for the better part of a decade, rocketing to stardom after his world title win over Wladimir Klitschko in 2015. He is now set to rake in an eye-watering £78million from his undisputed clash with Oleksandr Usyk in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Yet the undefeated boxer’s trajectory could have been very different if not for a highly dubious win early on in his career. Back in 2009, a 7-0 Fury - at that time more of a Gypsy Prince - took on a boxer by the name of John McDermott in Brentwood, Essex, for the English heavyweight title.

READ MORE: Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk prediction made by supercomputer

READ MORE: Tyson Fury struck by 'Drake curse' ahead of historic Oleksandr Usyk undisputed title fight

McDermott was a veteran with 25 wins and five losses behind him. Despite being labelled ‘McMuffin’ by the trash-talking Fury, he dominated his opponent and rocked him in the eighth round.

Yet, to the disbelief of all those present, referee Terry O’Connor crowned Fury the winner, leading commentator Jim Watt to ask if he had raised the wrong hand. The stunning decision - a 8-2 victory in favour of the Mancunian - sent McDermott on a downward trajectory as his boxing career fizzled out.

The 44-year-old told The Times: “I definitely won it, mate. I don’t know how the referee scored it eight rounds to him and two to me. Fury didn’t say a word. I was literally waiting in the changing room for someone to come and say, ‘There’s been a mistake.’”

McDermott suffered a more comprehensive defeat to Fury in their rematch the following year, being stopped in the ninth round to hand him his fourth