What does Tyson Fury want in a wrestling ring?

At first, many believed they were joking. In early October boxing star Tyson Fury appeared as a guest of honor at Smackdown, a weekly broadcast TV show of the world's largest wrestling league, WWE. It seemed like a normal VIP appearance.

The heavyweight who defeated Wladimir Klitschko in 2015 came with his family and posted photos on Instagram. "I grew up with some of these guys," he wrote. Just as everyone does.

The WWE often invites celebrities. Actors, singers or athletes show up in the front row and wave friendly into the camera. This adds relevance to the company and gives celebrities the opportunity to present themselves to an audience that might not otherwise be interested in them.

Also, the fact that Fury stood up during the show for a little scramble with the 2.03-meter-wide Fleischberg Braun Strowman was not unusual. Footballer Wayne Rooney did something similar on a WWE tour of England. Even actors like Bradley Cooper and Ashton Kutcher, and even today's US President Donald Trump, have appeared in the past and even in the ring. But none of them has denied a match.

Wrestling is a show, but still dangerous

Even though wrestling matches are denied and choreographed, the players need to know exactly how they are falling and strike so that it looks good but does not hurt. Behind the show hides an athletic performance that requires hard training. The former Bundesliga goalkeeper Tim Wiese ended his wrestling career before it even started properly, because he did not want to do the training.

Wrong actions can cause serious injury even to experienced wrestlers. The fact that stars from other areas go into such danger at the height of their career usually fails for insurance reasons. Unless you're called Tyson Fury.

Shortly after his visit to Smackdown, it was clear that the boxer was about more than a one-off short appearance. The WWE announced that Fury would also sit in the front row on the upcoming TV show Monday Night Raw. And even the self-proclaimed Gypsy King spread the information through his social media channels.

Scenes like Bud Spencer movies

Following the easy-to-see through wrestling logic, the next escalation between Fury and Strowman. This time, Fury actually climbed into the ring and got on with security forces trying to break him and the WWE giant. The scene was reminiscent of classic Bud Spencer slapstick. Fists flew far past heads, the bodies belonging to the heads still on the ground.

Ahmed Yosri / Reuters

Adventure Wrestling: Tyson Fury and opponent Braun Strowman

Three days later, the wrestling league announced that Fury and Strowman would compete at the Crown Jewel event. The fight will take place this Thursday (18:00 CEST) in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh. But why is he even doing that?

Anyone familiar with Fury's legendary press conferences and interviews knows that the Brit likes quirky performances and likes to do things that one does not expect. He also lets the fun pay well. He should receive about 15 million US dollars for the performance.

Tyson Fury will reportedly earn £ 11.9 million ($ 15m) for his date with Brown Strowman at Crown Jewel. [Daily Mail]

I've asked around and I'm told it's in that ballpark. "

This is a man who gave away his £ 2.5m purse from the wild fight to charity. I say good on him.

Another motivation could be to follow in the greatest possible footsteps. After all, Muhammad Ali also played a wrestling match during his playing days. In 1976, Ali competed in Japan against local hero Antonio Inoki. More than a billion people watched the so-called battle live on television, with Inoki mostly lying on the floor and Ali kicking his legs. In the end there was a draw so nobody had to lose. Ali was at that time still reigning world champion, but already in the final stages of his active boxing career.

Fury would actually have to prepare for a big boxing match

Fury, however, is at the age of 31 in the best age for a heavyweight boxer. Six weeks ago he celebrated a safe points victory against the previously unbeaten Sweden Otto Wallin. Last December, Fury fought a spectacular fight with WBC world champion Deontay Wilder, with the rematch scheduled for February 2020. Other boxers would now start preparing for Wilder, but Fury will try another sport instead and risk injury.

What seems contradictory and nonsensical at first sight is actually directly related. Through his wrestling debut Fury is known - and even with solvent fans who are interested in martial arts and show, but maybe not for boxing.

The weekly wrestling shows Smackdown and Raw are seen in the US on average by over two million people. The streaming service WWE Network, where the event is being broadcast live from Saudi Arabia, also has about as many subscribers.

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Presumably, Fury and his team hope to win some of those viewers for the rematch with Wilder. For the first duel in December, no more than 325,000 pay-per-view units had been sold in the US. At a price of $ 74.99, this resulted in revenues of more than $ 24 million. Nevertheless, there is still a lot of room for improvement.

Floyd Mayweather jr. Since 2007, he regularly scored one million pay-per-views and more with his battles. How did Mayweather do it? For one, he defeated the best boxers of his time like Oscar de la Hoya, Saúl "Canelo" Alvarez or Manny Pacquiao. On the other hand, Mayweather also knew how to make a name for herself outside of the boxing ring - among other things with guest and show appearances on television and in other sports.

So Mayweather appeared in 2008 - like Fury today at the age of 31 years - at the WWE. At Wrestlemania he played a show fight against the giant The Big Show. It is quite possible that Fury was watching closely and drawing his conclusions.