WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder has hit back at Tyson Fury for statements that he made earlier this week, where he called the unbeaten champion a "bum" and said he was willing to fight him on the street in a bare knuckle fight.
Fury and Wilder fought to a thrilling draw in Los Angeles in December. Fury went down twice in the fight, including a knockdown in the twelfth and final round where Fury appeared to be out cold before beating the count.
"It's the same typical Tyson Fury, but all of the highlights are of him getting dropped on his back, the same Tyson Fury who I gave a concussion, the same Tyson Fury who I gave memory loss to, to the point where he don't even remember how he got on the ground or how he even got up. So we can't take what he says seriously because sometimes he forgets what he says as well," Wilder said to TMZ.
The second bout was close to coming to fruition, but that is now not expected until 2020, with Fury set to face Tom Schwarz next month and the WBC champion fresh off an impressive first-round knockout against Dominic Breazeale on Saturday.
"Deontay Wilder cannot run from Tyson Fury forever - the fight has to happen," Fury said to ESPN, the broadcaster with whom he recently signed a deal.
"This rematch has got to happen, but it won't be in May, June, July or August. This fight, I'm being told, is likely to happen in March or April next year.
"We were very close to a rematch. We had contracts, they had contracts, we were trying to agree terms. All of a sudden I had a massive deal from ESPN and they made me an offer I couldn't refuse. That would've been in May I believe."
