By Shaun Murphy-
A teenager has filmed himself going for a run with world heavyweight champion, Tyson Fury. Presley Pennington, 14, was greeted by the heavyweight champion who urged him to run faster with him.
Presley, from Burnley, later posted pictures of himself with Fury on social media as well as a video in which he can be heard shouting: “With Tyson on a run.”
The Wbc champion had an encounter with the young schoolboy the previous day, when he gave him a signed hat when at a local supermarket.
Presley first spotted the gypsy king near a supermarket in the seaside town, where he grabbed a photo with him and received a branded hat.
He said: “The weird thing is the day before, when we got to Morecambe, I saw Tyson in his car near Sainsbury’s out the blue and he shook my hand.
“I got a picture and he gave me a hat which he signed.”
The following day, on June 3 this year, Presley’s dad Arron, 37, said he was woken up by his son quietly leaving the caravan in the early hours of the morning.
The electrician explained: “I thought he was bloody mad as I didn’t think he was going to do it. He was in the tent above the campervan and I said, ‘What are you doing?’
“He said, ‘I’m going for a run with Tyson fury’ but I just said, ‘You’re mad’ and shut the window.”
Presley then headed to Morecambe seafront where he was shocked to find the boxing champion charging along with a union flag tied to his back.
He said: “I got up and ready for 6 am, and we saw him on the run, and he remembered me.
“I only ran a little way with him, but the adrenaline kept me going!”
Presley later posted a video of him running with Tyson on social media, adding: “All my friends laughed at it. They thought it was great.”
The overjoyed teen later made a prediction that Fury will defeat Joshua when the pair meet this December.
“Tyson will absolutely smash him,” (Joshua)he said. “He is a warrior. I would bet £2million on Tyson winning if I could, I am that confident!”
Adrenaline
The teenager who has been inspired by Fury’s story said: “I got up and ready for 6am, and we saw him on the run, and he remembered me. I only ran a little way with him, but the adrenaline kept me going! They say don’t meet your heroes but he has such a good personality. I have two books on him and the reason he inspires me is that he was struggling, he had bad mental health problems and wanted to crash into a wall. Then he thought of his kids, started training and became the heavyweight champion of the world.
Pennington was driven 50 miles to Morecambe by his parents in the hope of spotting the heavyweight champion at the crack of dawn. The young teen then slept in his parents’ campervan before bumping into Fury, who is preparing for a potential fight with Anthony Joshua, as he jogged along the seafront at 6am the following day
The excited youngster filmed a video of their meeting, where he can be heard yelling “With Tyson on a run” while being urged on by the 120kg prize fighter.
Presley said about the experience: “They say don’t meet your heroes but he has such a good personality.
“I have two books on him and the reason he inspires me is that he was struggling, he had bad mental health problems and wanted to crash into a wall.
“Then he thought of his kids, started training and became the heavyweight champion of the world.
Presley, a pupil at Blessed Trinity RC College, said he drove from his hometown of Burnley to Morecambe after seeing Tyson jogging on social media.
He said: “I saw on Instagram that he runs down the seafront in Morecambe most days for his well-being.”
“I said to my grandma ‘I want to meet Tyson.’ We have a caravan in Morecambe, so we decided to try and make it happen!
Presley later posted a video of him running with Tyson on social media, adding: “All my friends laughed at it. They thought it was great.”
While Presley admits to enjoying boxing, he already has plans for his future.
He said: “I want to be a scaffolder or roofer. My mate and I want to set up our own business.”
Tyson Fury offered Anthony Joshua a lifeline to fight for his Wbc belt, after back-to-back losses to Olegsander Usyk, the last defeat being at the end of August.
The fight is expected to be one of the most celebrated in the history of British boxing, with Fury, the betting favourite to retain his belt.