Deontay Wilder does not respect Tyson Fury’s strength, going as far as saying that his counterpart packs pillows in his fists.
“He doesn’t have the power to hurt me. I have a strong mind and a very strong chin. He can talk all he wants, but in the end, he has to face the facts and reality. I can’t wait to present facts and reality with my fists,” Wilder told BoxingScene.com in an interview.
Wilder (42-0-1, 41 KOs) meets Fury (29-0-1, 20 KOs) on Saturday in a highly anticipated heavyweight showdown at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas as part of a Fox Sports and ESPN pay-per-view promotion.
The 34-year-old Alabaman is confident he will finish what he first started in 2018 when he knocked Fury down twice, but failed to finish the fight with the signature knockouts he’s become known for. Fury miraculously channeled into his might and rose from the canvas as a result of a knockdown in the twelfth round after mostly outboxing Wilder for 11 rounds before it.
“I don’t believe a single word Tyson Fury says, except for the fact that you have to nail him down to the canvas to knock him out,” said Wilder. “If he keeps getting up, I’m going to keep knocking him down. He’s going to think twice about the punches, and feel, it’s not even worth getting back up. I’m very confident.”
At 95.3 percent, the WBC champion Wilder has the highest KO ratio in heavyweight boxing history. His 10 title defenses currently has him tied with Muhammad Ali for the most ever in the sport’s glamour division.
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist and member of the Boxing Writers Assn. of America since 2011. He has written for the likes of the LA Times, Guardian, USA Today, Philadelphia Inquirer, Men’s Health and NFL.com and currently does TV commentary for combat sports programming that airs on Fox Sports and hosts his own radio show in Los Angeles. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan or via email at manouk.akopyan@gmail.com.
