Tyson Fury is not only a beloved boxer but an entertainer as well. ‘The Gypsy King’s’ skills inside the ring made him a fearsome warrior. However, his antics and showmanship outside the ring made him beloved amongst the fans. However, for almost a year, the 36-year-old has been under former UFC fighter Chael Sonnen’s radar. Sonnen called out Fury for his fight against former UFC Champion Francis Ngannou and even labeled him as a “scumbag,” for choosing the fight. Sonnen further criticized the match’s outcome, alleging it was fixed to favor ‘The Gypsy King.’

At the moment, the Manchester native is preparing to enter the biggest fight of his career against Oleksandr Usyk on December 21 in Riyadh. Sonnen did not let this opportunity slide to rant about the 34-1-1 boxer while also crediting him for something that the UFC people’s champ thinks is great.

Tyson Fury’s love for his wife is admirable says Sonnen

While talking on his YouTube channel, Chael Sonnen claimed that he can’t name five interesting things about Tyson Fury. He declared, “Give me a list: What are your five favorite things about Tyson Fury? And I would be challenged, cuz I got to put the boxing in there somewhere.”

However, the 47-year-old explained that he also loves Fury’s singing as much as his boxing. In 2015, after becoming the unified heavyweight champion against Wladimir Klitschko, The Gypsy King, gave the fans an unexpected gift when he started singing “American Pie” by Don McLean. It has been a kind of ritual since then where he has sung the song after his rematch wins against both Deontay Wilder and Dillian Whyte. The 36-year-old has often opened up about how the song reminds him of good times with his family.

Sonnen loves the idea of Tyson Fury dedicating the song to his wife and his family. “The fact that he sings his version of a love song but he sings it to his old lady, I like that. I like a guy that likes his wife. That somewhere over time became an uncool thing. A guy taking his wedding ring off and hitting the club—that became more of the norm. I like a guy that likes his wife,” stated Sonnen.

However, the 47-year-old believes that the boxer does not understand the true meaning behind the song and sings it as though it’s a love song. He blamed this lack of understanding on Fury’s simple-minded nature and his wife, Paris Fury’s lack of knowledge about the song. “Now I would disagree. I don’t know it’s a love song but I know he thinks it is cuz he’s a big lummox and she doesn’t have much of a higher education,” contended Sonnen.

While Tyson Fury has described American Pie as a love song, his connection to the song comes from a rather personal level and varies from the lyrical meaning and rooted culture of the song. Furthermore, it does not look like Don McLean has any problem with The Gypsy King singing the song to his wife. In fact, a few years ago, McLean even collaborated with the boxer to release a new rendition of his classic.

An unlikely collaboration

American Pie, an eight-and-a-half-minute song released in 1971, is still one of the most popular songs in the world. In 2022, Paramount+ released a documentary titled ‘The Day the Music Died’ on the life of Don McLean. In the documentary, McLean explained his vision of the American Pie song as a biographical reflection of what was happening in America during the 1960s. The song covers the assassination of the Kennedys, Martin Luther King Jr, the Vietnam War, and several other tragic events in US history and how they affected the nation.

Over the years, there have been several renditions of the song by the likes of Maddona, Garth Brooks, and Jon Bon Jovi. McLean himself collaborated with an acappella group Home Free to release a new version of the song.

However, none of those collaborations were quite as shocking as when the singer decided to come together with Tyson Fury back in 2022. After Fury’s 2-minute performance of the song post-Dillian Whyte fight, McLean was in awe of the fighter even calling him a “lovable champion”. McLean stated that Tyson “did very well. I would say he is the number 1 barroom singer. Excellent job.” The pair later joined hands to remake the original song and while McLean sang most of the parts, we saw Fury chime in at the end.

Considering everything, it does not look like Don McLean has any problem with Tyson Fury singing it as a love song. Rather, he loves the performances of the boxer. So, there is no point in contention, is there? Let us know your thoughts down below.