Australian Heavyweight contender Lucas “Big Daddy” Browne is leaving no stone unturned in his bid to defeat Dillian Whyte in their proposed clash later this month. Browne, the former WBA regular champion, sparred with former heavyweight champion Tyson Fury today at Ricky Hatton’s Gym in Manchester. Browne is currently in England putting the finishing touches on his preparation for his upcoming battle with Whyte which will be contested for the WBC Silver title on March 24, at London’s O2 Arena.

Fury is currently in the process of getting back to peak fitness and hasn’t fought since he defeated Wladimir Klitschko in November 2015. The pair battled away behind closed doors and showed obvious admiration for each other at the conclusion of the session.

“It was an absolute honor to share the ring with Tyson,” said Browne. “He has all the tricks in the book and he really made me think in there. He uses his reach so well, so you are always trying to overcome that problem. I had one or two tricks up my sleeve too”.

Browne’s trainer Rodney Williams was impressed with what he saw. “It was what I call a cerebral spar. It made Lucas think and work on solving the problem in front of him. While stylistically Fury might not fight like Whyte, this was sparring at an elite level and will help Lucas with his preparations for the 24th”.

“Tyson is an absolute gentleman,” Browne continued. “We get along really well and he is really down to earth. Once the TV cameras go on, that’s a different story, he’s selling himself. I can’t wait to see him get back in the middle of the heavyweight action.

“We will hopefully squeeze a few more sparring sessions in and then I’m moving base down to London. I’ll be sparring Nathan Gorman and Derek Chisora down there. Everything is ticking over nicely. There’s no way Dillian Whyte is getting the same level of sparring that I am. I am going to hurt him on March 24.”