Meet the boxing-mad promoter behind Tyson Fury's triumphant return to Black Country
Tyson Fury has a heart of gold and can't wait to get back to Wolverhampton – but his Black Country accent is terrible!
That's according to Andy Sahota, the boxing-mad promoter who has masterminded the Gypsy King's return to the city later this week.
WBC world heavyweight champion Fury takes centre stage at a glitzy event at KK's Steel Mill on Friday, which will feature a meet and greet with fans and a sit down interview.
Mr Sahota, who runs ShowFighter productions, has got to know the champ well over the years, having first put him on at an event in the Park Hall Hotel in 2017.
He says Fury's fondness for the Black Country meant he took little persuading to return as part of his nationwide After Party tour.
"Through good times and bad he's a down to earth guy with a heart of gold," the 47-year-old said.
"Tyson's got a lot of time for Wolverhampton and some great memories since the first time we put him on here five years ago.
"He has has fought his way from rock bottom to the very top, but he's always up for a laugh. Whenever I see him the first thing he usually does is put on a Black Country accent – and yes, it's terrible!"
Fury's return marks the latest sporting legend to come to the region since ShowFighter launched in 2013.
The son of former pro-wrestler 'Tiger' Kashmir Singh, Mr Sahota travelled the world in an award-winning Bhangra dance group before training as a graphic designer.
A life-long Wolves fan, he co-founded the Punjabi Wolves Supporters (PWS) group in 2006 and put on his first event the following year, a charity show in Dudley featuring Bully and Don Goodman that drew a crowd of 550 and raised £28,000 for Promise Dreams.
He says it gave him a taste for hosting live events, but he was determined to offer something different to the standard 'sportsman's dinner' type affairs that were de rigueur at the time.
"You'd generally have a room full of men, a blue comedian and some awful tasting food before the main event came on," Mr Sahota said.
"It was all a bit sleazy and I wanted to change that. The aim with ShowFighter has always been to add a bit of glitz and glamour to proceedings, so everyone who comes to one of our shows knows they are going to get great food and top level entertainment."
The father-of-one started ShowFigher with white collar boxing events at the Civic Hall, which he describes as a "dream come true" having grown up watching his dad wrestle there.
His first major event was an evening with Frank Bruno at Wolverhampton's Grand Station, and since then sports fans have been treated to shows featuring the likes of Gazza, Anthony Joshua and Floyd Mayweather.
For Mr Sahota, who grew up in All Saints and went to Deansfield [now St Matthias] School, it is the culmination of a childhood ambition to be around what he calls the "showbusiness element" of the world of top level sports.
He credits Spencer Brown from Goldstar Promotions – who is also promoting the Fury event – for showing him the ropes, and says the real "gamechanger" for ShowFighter was putting on Mayweather at the ICC in 2017.
"We had to go into a new city where we had no network at the time," he recalls. "We really upped our game and Mayweather put on a spectacular show."
Sell out events including Joshua at Dunstall Park have followed, helping the combined total raised for charity by ShowFighter and PWS to top £450,000.
Mr Sahota says he is proud to run the "number one sports events company in the Midlands", and has now moved into the world of music through a collaboration with Wolves Records on the latest video from up and coming Wolverhampton rapper Reepa.
He hopes Friday's show will be "the best one yet", with Fury already having told the Express & Star how the city holds a special place in his heart.
"I'm Wolverhampton born and bred and it's a great honour for me to bring these sporting legends to the city for people to enjoy," Mr Sahota said.
"There's no doubt that with Tyson having retained his belt in April and then announced his retirement, he's going to be well up for celebrating with fans on Friday.
"It's going to be a special night."
