How Tyson Fury’s ‘Rookie Numbers’ inspired Deontay Wilder KO

Tyson Fury’s hammering of Deontay Wilder in their rematch was accredited to actor Matthew McConaughey’s character in a hit movie.

‘The Gypsy King’ revealed in the lead-up to the second fight with Wilder he was relieving himself seven times a day in preparation for the Las Vegas date. The pair met again on February 22 in Las Vegas, and Fury said he’d upped his game for the return.

“I’m [doing the deed] seven times a day,” Fury said at the LA press conference. “To keep my testosterone pumping. Pump it. Pump it!

“I’ve got to keep active. Keep the testosterone flowing. I don’t know if any of it really matters on the night. It didn’t matter before. But if it will give me an edge on winning this fight, then I’m willing to try it,” he added.

Promoters then released a video that morphed into a clip from the hit movie ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ with Fury’s comments. In it, Matthew McConaughey plays Mark Hanna, who was advising the film’s star, Leonardo DiCaprio, who portrayed stockbroker Jordan Belfort.

The famous scene in a restaurant at the beginning of the film gave Fury his inspiration. The script read like this:

Mark Hanna: You j*** off?

Jordan Belfort: Do I, do I j*** off? Yeah. Yeah, I j*** off, yeah.

Mark Hanna: How many times a week?

Jordan Belfort: Like, uh…three…three, three, four…three or four times, maybe five.

Mark Hanna: You gotta pump those numbers up. Those are rookie numbers in this racket. I, myself, I j*** off at least twice a day.

Jordan Belfort: Wow.

Mark Hanna: Once in the morning, right after I work out, and then once right after lunch.

Jordan Belfort: Really?

Mark Hanna: Mm-hmm. Why? I want to. That’s not why I do it. I do it because I f***ing need to. Think about it: you’re dealing with numbers all day long. Decimal points, high frequencies, bang, bang, bang. Eh-eh-eh-eh. F***ing digits kick, kick, kick, all very acidic above the shoulders mustard s***.

Tyson Fury unveiled an unusual training method taken from @McConaughey that inspired a knockout victory over Deontay Wilder in 2020.

Fury’s ‘rookie numbers’ helped him KO Wilder, who never stood a chance from the first bell.#RookieNumbers #WolfOfWallStreet

🎥 Tyson Fury pic.twitter.com/hbDk1ZcvyB

— World Boxing News (@WorldBoxingNews) February 11, 2025

Jordan Belfort: Mm-hmm. Mark Hanna: Right? Jordan Belfort: Mm-hmm. Mark Hanna: The con can wig some people out. Jordan Belfort: Mm-hmm.

Mark Hanna: Right? So you gotta feed the geese to keep the blood flowing. And keep the rhythm below the belt.

Jordan Belfort: Done.

Mark Hanna: This is not a tip. This is a prescription. Trust me. If you don’t, you will fall out of balance. Glitch your differential and tip the f*** over. Or worse yet, I’ve seen this happen, implode.

Jordan Belfort: No, I don’t wanna implode, sir.

Mark Hanna: No. No, you don’t.

Jordan Belfort: I’m in it for the long run, you know?

Mark Hanna: Yeah. Implosions are ugly.

Jordan Belfort: Yeah.

Mark Hanna: Pop off to the bathroom and work one out anytime you can. When you get really good at it, you’ll be f***ing stroking it, and you’ll be thinking about money.

Just a couple of dudes, hangin’ at #UFC246, talkin’ about rookie numbers.@Tyson_Fury 🤝 @McConaughey pic.twitter.com/q8QYdDCTjf

— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) January 19, 2020

Just days later, Fury was rubbing shoulders with McConaughey in Las Vegas. The man whose ‘rookie numbers’ spiel continues to provide a running joke for the heavyweight.

Fury’s profile has skyrocketed in the United States during that time, and situations like the McConaughey link-up only added fuel to the fire.

However, since winning a trilogy fight, Fury’s star has waned in the United States and never fought there again.

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Read all articles and exclusive interviews by Phil Jay. Learn more about the author, experienced boxing writer, and World Boxing News Editor since 2010. Follow on Twitter @PhilJWBN and Quora.