A raging Tyson Fury has vowed to knock Deontay Wilder out when the two rivals meet for the third time on Saturday in Las Vegas.
Key points:
- Tyson Fury called Deontay Wilder “a weak man”
- Wilder repeated claims that Fury used illegal gloves in their first fight
- The pair meet in their trilogy fight this Sunday (AEDT) in Las Vegas
The undefeated lineal champion Fury (30-0-1), who battled Wilder (42-1-1) to a draw in 2018 before taking the WBC belt from the American 20 months ago, was the aggressor in Wednesday’s press conference, repeatedly berating the former champion.
“You’re a weak man and you’re getting knocked out,” Fury, who wore a colourful suit with a pattern of WBC belts on it at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, said.
“Your legacy will be in tatters. Torn to bits. Finished,” he added during a particularly heated back-and-forth near the end of the event.
Fury was particularly bothered by Wilder’s claims that he had cheated in their last meeting by illegally tampering with his gloves ahead of the seventh-round stoppage — just one of a number of bizarre claims Wilder made in the aftermath of what was his first professional defeat.
“You haven’t denied any allegations,” Wilder said, in reference to his claims that Fury had illegal gloves.
Getty Images: Ethan Miller
)“I don’t need to deny it because it’s not true,” Fury said.
“I don’t have to manipulate my gloves, I don’t have to do those things. At night when I look into the mirror I know I’m a real king, a real champion. Do you feel me?” Wilder replied.
“I don’t feel you because you are a lying little dosser. An insecure piece of shit,” Fury said back.
“No-one in here can accept the fact this little pussy got his ass handed to him. Not once but twice and he can do nothing about it.”
Saturday’s fight — which was scheduled only after a court ordered Fury to honour a rematch clause in his original contract with Wilder — was set for July 24 before Fury’s positive COVID-19 test forced a postponement.
Wilder, sporting a blood red track suit with the words “Eye for an eye” written on it in Russian, appeared more relaxed, remaining seated for almost the entire presser, saying he had “nothing to lose and everything to gain” in the fight.
Getty Images: Mikey Williams/Top Rank Inc
)“I’m in a great place, a great state of mind,” Wilder said.
“There’s nothing to prove at all. This right here is redemption, retaliation and retribution.”
Wilder’s trainer Malik Scott said he had been working to expand the knockout artist’s toolbox, while Fury’s trainer Sugar Hill Steward said his focus had been on fine-tuning the “already exceptional” Fury.
The winner is expected to face Oleksandr Usyk, who holds the other three titles after out-boxing Anthony Joshua, for a chance to become the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis 21 years ago.
Follow the WBC World Heavyweight title fight between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder in our live blog from midday Sunday.
ABC/Reuters
