David Adeleye to appear on the undercard of Fury vs Whyte

Sitting on David Adeleye’s arm is a tattoo of a young boy, pointing towards a boxing glove in front of Wembley Stadium. It depicts a vision, a goal, a future the unbeaten heavyweight saw of himself when he first turned pro. A vision that on Saturday night comes true.

‘This was when I’d just turned pro, I was 1-0, just getting it tattooed on my skin and manifesting it,’ he tells Sportsmail. ‘I got where I came from, where my mum came from and my childhood dream: a little kid, pointing at a boxing glove in front of Wembley Stadium, just to say, “one day I’ll be fighting there.”

On Saturday night, the first part of the journey comes to fruition, when he fights on the undercard as regular sparring partner Tyson Fury takes on Dillian Whyte in front of 94,000 fans at England’s national stadium.

That’s one goal on the checklist ticked off, then, albeit only partially. ‘In the future I’ll be headlining there,’ he assures. ‘So, this is just a steppingstone, just putting my foot in the water and getting a taste of what it’s going to be like.’

Standing in the way of the Briton’s hopes and dreams is southpaw journeyman Chris Healey (9-8), who the hard-hitting Adeleye unsurprisingly vows to knock out, for what would be his eighth KO in nine fights.

The thud of his venomous punches won’t reverberate around Wembley quite like they would York Hall, the location of his most recent demolition job, but the proposal of any difference in approach or additional nerves is swiftly brushed aside.

‘A fight’s a fight at the end of the day,’ he said. ‘I’d probably feel the same if I was fighting in a pub, no nerves.’ His coach Frank Greaves interjects, insisting: ‘He don’t go to pubs.’ Adeleye jibes: ‘No, I leave that to Frank.’

‘If I was fighting in the gym in front of 10 people it would be the same thing,’ Adeleye continued. ‘It’s exciting, you’ve just got to take it in your stride. It’s a fight at the end of the day. We ain’t playing golf, we’re going out there to punch each other in the mouth.’

For what is undoubtedly the biggest fight of his young career, the 25-year-old has prepared in equally imposing surroundings, once again joining Fury for the entirety of his eight-week camp alongside fellow sparring partners Joseph Parker, Martin Bakole and Jarrell Miller.

A phenomenal learning experience for the young heavyweight, who has been a part of the WBC champion’s camp since his rematch against Deontay Wilder in 2020.

‘It's like I’m a student just coming into my fresher’s year,’ Adeleye explains. ‘Tyson’s about to graduate and then you’ve got the lecturers teaching Tyson, also teaching me.

‘I’m a fresher essentially getting the same knowledge as a graduate’s getting, so I’m moving pretty fast. I’m basically sitting in a class of veterans and I’m a fresher – and I’m doing good in my exams.’

A smile breaks out on Adeleye’s face as he’s asked to detail exactly how he fared against Fury. ‘Good,’ is his one-word response. Greaves again adds: ‘He’s there for a reason, because it’s competitive and it gives Tyson different looks and different things that maybe he can’t get elsewhere.’

For those on the outside, exactly who Fury is can often seem a mystery: his tone, temperament and very opinions can fluctuate from day to day, interview to interview.

But having spent multiple camps training alongside the Gypsy King, Adeleye has seen behind the mask. ‘I look at him like a big bro,’ he said.

‘In camp you talk, you ask certain questions and I never left thinking I should have asked this or that. I can text or call him and ask anything, sit there and speak to him.

‘He’s cool, man. Tyson will sit in a room of other people, and you wouldn’t know he’s the champion. He’s humble. It’s just banter, he doesn’t have an ego or a chip on his shoulder. It’s like sitting down with one of the boys.’

Staying in education until the age of 21, when he graduated from the University of Wolverhampton with a degree in Business Management, Adeleye is already planning for life after boxing, with business, investments and exiting the sport as healthy as possible his priorities.