Tyson Fury isn’t angry at Deontay Wilder for making an array of excuses and accusations after Fury stopped him in their rematch. (photo by Ryan Hafey)
Fury feels “sorry” for Wilder because the former WBC heavyweight champion cannot come to terms with his only professional loss. While Fury is certain he would’ve handled his first defeat far differently than Wilder, the unbeaten champion actually thinks Wilder’s unwillingness to accept Fury’s victory over him is beneficial because Wilder would need to admit defeat before he could truly learn from it and improve prior to their third fight.
Wilder will get the opportunity to prove Fury wrong October 9 in Las Vegas. He is working with a new trainer, onetime opponent Malik Scott, but Fury doubts that his heavy-handed nemesis is capable of beating him in their third fight, primarily due to what Fury considers a fragile psyche.
“Do you know what it is with Wilder? He’s very unstable at the moment,” Fury told BoxingScene.com. “And he has to figure out reasons why he lost the second fight. You know, he has to tell himself all this bullsh!t and whatever else he says. But I don’t pay any heed to it. I just feel sorry for him because, you know, it must be hard to be undefeated for 10 years and knock out all of your opponents, and then fight me and lose and get knocked out in probably the most one-sided champion versus champion fight in history.
“I’ve never, ever seen a more one-sided beatdown of an undefeated world heavyweight champion than I did to Deontay Wilder in that second fight. So, I’m not sure how I would react if I got absolutely smashed to bits, like he did. But I guarantee it wouldn’t be like this, like a child. He’s like a kindergarten school child, making excuses why he didn’t get tagged. You didn’t tag me! And that’s what Deontay Wilder is, he’s an excuse-maker.”
The 6-feet-9, 270-pound Fury floored Wilder twice in their rematch – once apiece in the third and fifth rounds. Their one-sided second fight was stopped in the seventh round because Wilder’s former assistant trainer, Mark Breland, threw in the towel to prevent Wilder from taking unnecessary punishment.
Wilder fired Breland, who Wilder claimed conspired with members of Fury’s team before their rematch. Wilder also made disparaging remarks about referee Kenny Bayless following his technical-knockout loss in February 2020 and contended that the 45-pound costume he wore during his long ring walk contributed to weakening his legs before their rematch began at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
The former champion’s most serious charge was that Fury’s left glove was doctored, despite that it was inspected thoroughly by the Nevada State Athletic Commission before and during fight night.
Caesars Sportsbook has installed Fury, 33, as a 3-1 favorite to defeat Wilder, 35, once again. The third 12-round championship bout between Fury (30-0-1, 21 KOs), of Manchester, England, and Wilder (42-1-1, 41 KOs), of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, will headline a four-fight ESPN/FOX Sports pay-per-view show from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
