Across his career, there are many idiosyncrasies that have helped perpetuate the story of Tyson Fury inside the boxing ring - the man, the myth and the legend writ large.
Named for a legendary boxer, backed by a familial epithet that speaks to his rage within the ring, and raised as an outsider who conquered the world, his journey is a rags-to-riches affair of sporting glory.
But it is the voice of the Gypsy King - Lancastrian twang delivered with a mile-a-minute rasp amplified to a bellow - that has helped cement him as a heavyweight entertainer.
- Read more | Usyk vs. Fury 2: Fight date, UK start time, undercard, how to watch heavyweight title rematch
Yet his gift of the gab, and ability to spin gold from tales and taunts, is not what it once was - and many have wondered just how it has changed psychologically and philosophically.
As he prepares to face Oleksandr Usyk this weekend at Riyadh Season's Reignited, live on DAZN Pay-Per-View, DAZN News studies the story of Tyson Fury's voice - and just what it means to the Gypsy King.
From a whisper...
(Getty Images)
It is hard to reconcile the figure of Fury now with the man who turned professional more than a decade-and-a-half ago. Then, he was green around the gills in more ways than one.
There was an iron-clad self-belief, undented by bruising battles in the gym - including a spar with future British rival Anthony Joshua - and steady dominance inside the ring.
But beyond his fists, Fury was still finding his feet with his words and his voice, with an accent that carried heavy hints of his upbringing but also a lightness and delicacy behind it.
Between 2012 and 2013, the edges were comparatively smooth - clipped by his natural brogue rather than altered by external factors, slowly growing into a showman's flair.
From then until 2016, it began to gradually deepen, but without obvious alteration either - and it was not until the star made it to the top of the world that he found a new sound too.
...to a scream
(Getty Images)
In late 2015, Fury became world heavyweight champion for the first time, defeating Wladimir Klitschko by unanimous decision to deliver one of boxing's great modern shocks.
Afterwards, he famously unleashed his voice in a serenade for his wife Paris, belting out Aerosmith's lighters-out power ballad I Don't Want to Miss a Thing at the top of his lungs.
But by the time he returned to the ring almost three years later, he cut a dramatically different figure - and it was arguably no more noticeable than in the way he spoke.
In the intervening period, Fury's voice appeared to have dropped an octave and gained a guttural scour, as if his neck was wrapped in sandpaper. He sounded like another man.
A prolonged period of struggles with substances and mental health issues, which had forced him from the ring to start, were assumed by many to be responsible for the change.
But in a 2021 interview, Fury revealed instead that the discrepancy in his tone could be chalked up to a blood clot on the throat he had received while sparring in 2016.
"It wasn't always like this though," he told The MMA Hour. "If you go back and look at interviews from like 2010 onwards right up until about 2016, I didn't have this voice.
"One of my good friends, Ty Mitchell [is responsible]. We were sparring and he hit me in the throat real hard and I developed a blood clot. This is why I talk like this now."
That voice again
For Fury, the voice is part of the story - a change that coincides, for better or worse, with the wilderness years where questions were asked if he would ever box again.
Now, six years on from his return, and with a chance to become world heavyweight champion once again this month, he cuts a more measured figure than he once did.
Among his faux-pas over the years, it has been his words more than his actions that have frequently been held against him - and perhaps as he ages, he has come to realise this.
But one thing is for certain. Despite claims that he will cut back on the showboating, there will be little chance that Fury does not unleash his magic words against Usyk this week.
Whether that voice can cut through the Ukrainian's resolve is another thing. But The Cat certainly won't have the Gypsy King's tongue until the final bell has been rung in Riyadh.
Watch Usyk vs. Fury 2 on DAZN PPV - Buy Now
The Oleksandr Usyk/Tyson Fury rematch and full undercard is a DAZN Pay-Per-View (PPV) worldwide event and will cost £24.99 in the UK / $39.95 in the US. For prices in your region click here.
A PPV event means buying this fight night is a single one-off payment, with no subscription requirement or extra costs. Buying the Usyk vs. Fury 2 PPV on DAZN brings great benefits.
This includes a range of options to watch the fight, from the traditional commentary to watchalongs with True Geordie or ShowBizz; the best broadcast team including Kate Scott, Ade Oladiop, Andy Lee, Darren Barker and Eddie Hearn; and commentary in multiple languages (languages TBC).
The PPV also comes with a seven-day free trial of the whole DAZN platform. This provides access to action from the UEFA Women's Champions League, NFL, PDC Darts, LIV Golf, Super League Basketball and Saudi Pro League.
The Usyk vs. Fury fight and all DAZN content can be watched anywhere and everywhere on any device via the DAZN App. Watch on smart TV's, smartphones, tablets, games consoles, streaming devices and any device with a web browser.
Buy Usyk vs. Fury 2 PPV on DAZN now.
More Usyk vs. Fury 2
- List of the 10 greatest heavyweight boxers of all time: Has Tyson Fury done enough to make the cut?
- Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tyson Fury 2 fight guide
- Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tyson Fury 2 undercard guide
- There's no fear there!' - Tyson Fury compares Oleksandr Usyk to threat of Deontay Wilder ahead of rematch
- Fury predicts specific ending to heavyweight title rematch
- 'He has to conquer his own self first!' - Lennox Lewis offers insight into Tyson Fury
- Usyk vs. Fury 2: World champion Daniel Dubois makes prediction for rematch
- Usyk vs. Fury 2 - Bernard Hopkins makes emphatic prediction for heavyweight rematch
- Tyson Fury reveals wife suffered miscarriage on eve of Oleksandr Usyk defeat