By Keith Idec
The Billy Joe Saunders-Deontay Wilder chicken incident is behind them.
Saunders told BoxingScene.com that he shook hands with Wilder at Windsor Park on Saturday night, a night after throwing a whole chicken at the WBC heavyweight champion. Saunders explained that the tension began when Wilder confronted Saunders for calling him a racist in a video interview Wilder watched on the Internet.
The WBO middleweight champion confirmed he then threw the chicken he ordered for dinner at Wilder. Footage of two of Wilder’s friends chasing Saunders out of Nando’s, a restaurant in Belfast, was posted on Twitter and Instagram on Friday night.
Saunders, one of Tyson Fury’s closest friends, joked about the unusual dustup with Wilder when interviewed by BoxingScene.com.
“Yeah, me and Deontay Wilder can get it on,” Saunders said. “We can have it gypsy-style, outside. Nah, listen, we were on the pitch earlier on and we shook hands. You know, it’s all fun and games, isn’t it? We shook hands and we squashed the chicken argument.”
Saunders didn’t deny calling Wilder a racist when Wilder asked him about it.
“I called him a racist on an interview once,” Saunders said. “He obviously seen it. He confronted me and I said, ‘Yeah, I did.’ And it just kicked off from there. But like I say, real’s real.”
When asked why he threw a chicken at Wilder, Saunders joked, “Listen, my chicken was cold. I didn’t want it anymore. It was cold. It was cold.
“We peaced up. We peaced up. He gave me 30 good back. He paid me for me chicken, so that was that. That’s all I wanted. He paid for me chicken. That’s what happened.”
Fury (27-0, 19 KOs) promised to make Wilder (40-0, 39 KOs) pay for confronting Saunders when they fight for Wilder’s WBC heavyweight title later this year.
“Listen, he tried to bully a middleweight,” Fury said. “Billy Joe don’t take no sh*t from nobody. He said, ‘Oh, did you call me something?’ He said, ‘Yeah, I did, mate. What are you gonna do about it?’ We all saw what happened. Billy Joe Saunders, he ain’t a heavyweight, but he will fight anybody. And let me tell you – for that, I’m gonna punish Deontay Wilder. I’m gonna pepper him all night, and then land that bang, see you later. Left, right, good night.”
Frank Warren, Fury’s promoter, said the date and venue for the Wilder-Fury fight will be announced this week. Fury defeated Italy’s Francesco Pianeta (35-5-1, 20 KOs) by decision in their 10-round bout Saturday night at Windsor Park in Belfast to ensure his fight with Wilder.
Wilder watched from ringside and went face-to-face with Fury in the ring following Fury’s victory.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.