Category: Wilder vs. Fury II

Deontay Wilder: Tyson Fury’s change of trainers sign of trouble

Deontay Wilder says Tyson Fury’s decision to fire trainer Ben Davison is a sign that he’s nervous about his chances in their Feb. 22 rematch

Deontay Wilder looks at change in Tyson Fury’s corner and sees turmoil. But Fury embraces change, calling it an inevitable step in a never-ending quest to get better.

Wilder says Fury’s surprising decision to fire trainer Ben Davison and hire SugarHill Steward is a sign that he’s nervous about his chances in their Feb. 22 rematch on Fox/ESPN+ pay-per-view.

“He changes trainers like he changes his drawers,’’ Wilder said at a news conference this week in Los Angeles, just across the street from where they fought to a controversial draw more than 13 months ago at Staples Center.

But, Wilder suggests, the move from one trainer to another will only leave Fury dizzy and without answers.

“If he beat me, then why all the new trainers?’’ Wilder said. “Every day it changes. Firing and hiring. He wants to talk about being out of shape the first time, but he was in great shape. He spent 100,000 [British] pounds on all those camps.

“I still to this day have the same people with me and I don’t need to change it.’’

Wilder has always been with Jay Deas and began working with Mark Breland in 2008. A familiar face in the corner is believed to be a significant, yet intangible factor, especially amid the pressure and potential adversity in a big fight. For Wilder and Fury, no fight is bigger than their rematch.

Fury says Steward is a familiar face. He got to know him years ago while sparring at the Kronk Gym for SugarHill’s namesake and mentor, the late Emanuel Steward.

The change in Fury’s corner was prompted by what happened in the bloody decision over Otto Wallin on Sept. 14 in Las Vegas. Fury’s father complained that his son looked unprepared. He blamed Davison, saying a change was necessary if his son hoped to beat Wilder in a rematch. Three months later, Davison was gone.

Fury said he was ready to move on anyway. He said he had grown stale.

“You’re never a finished article,’’ Fury said. “You can always improve. I like to keep freshening things up every now and again. I don’t make excuses. I won fair and square and we get to do it again. I’m ready for a fight today.

“I’m looking for a knockout. That’s why I hired SugarHill. He gets you to sit down on that big right hand. That’s what I’m looking for. There’s the game plan. If I wasn’t looking for a knockout, I would have sharpened up what I did in the last fight. I’m not coming for that. I’m looking for my 21st knockout.’’

Tyson Fury has wrestling in his future regardless of Feb. 22 outcome

Tyson Fury confirmed that he plans to be back on the WWE stage, saying, first and foremost, he’s an entertainer.

Deontay Wilder jokes that he’s glad Tyson Fury has another job in pro wrestling. Fury will need the gig, says Wilder, who has promised to knock him out in their heavyweight rematch

Turns out, it’s not exactly a joke, at least not to the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment).

The WWE wants Fury back for an encore, no matter what happens on Feb. 22 on Fox/ESPN+ pay-per-view.

“The entertainment side of it, that showmanship side of him, is in front,’’ WWE executive Paul Michael Levesque, better-known as Triple H, told the U.K.’s Metro.

“So I think he would love to do something more with us. He’d love to do a bigger thing. I think he understands the entertainment value. This is not — for him — about: ‘I need to be the champion, or I need to be this or that.’ ‘’

Fury had a role in the WWE’s Halloween show in Saudi Arabia In October. Levesque said he would like to have him back under the big top in Tampa on April 5.

Fury confirmed that he plans to be back on the WWE stage. He says he enjoys the showmanship. First and foremost, he says, he’s an entertainer.

“They (WWE) didn’t pick him, because he sucks,’’ Fury said of Wilder during a news conference Monday in Los Angeles. “They picked me.’’

Deontay Wilder, Tyson Fury promise to destroy one another

Deontay Wilder said on Monday he would send Tyson Fury back to wrestling while Fury promised to stop Wilder in two rounds.

LOS ANGELES – Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder occupied the same stage, not far from where they occupied the same ring more than a year ago.

They were on that stage, at the bully pulpit, Monday at L.A. Live to talk about a Feb. 22nd rematch of a fight loaded with drama, yet unresolved for everybody who was there about a block away at Staples Center on Dec. 1, 2018. It was a majority draw on the scorecards. It was a unanimous decision for a rematch in the collective mind of those who saw it.

Finally, there’s a sequel, less than six weeks away at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand and on Fox/ESPN+ pay-per-view.

How they got here for a much-anticipated fight is a tale of two heavyweights. They have different versions. And very different predictions.

Wilder promises to send Fury back to pro wrestling, which is the scripted role he played for big money between the chaos he experienced against Wilder and then Otto Wallin.

Deontay Wilder (left) and Tyson Fury will be face to face in the ring again on Feb. 22 in Las Vegas. Scott Kirkland / Fox Sports / Picture Group

“I’m going to rip his head off, give him a real WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) moment,’’ Wilder said during a news conferences on a day away from training camp. “I’m just glad he’ll have a job to go back to.’’

It was vintage Wilder, whose high energy was matched only by bold confidence. From Wilder, there were no surprises. But there were a few from Fury, who also is as adept at throwing a feint as anybody in the ring today.

“You’re going to sleep in two rounds,’’ Fury said, looking straight at Wilder as he promised to knock him out

Wilder rolled his eyes, mocking Fury for a promise he believes he can’t keep. After all, Wilder is the power puncher. If anyone is capable of an early stoppage, conventional wisdom and bookmakers would say it is Wilder and his lethal right hand.

But Fury is not exactly a conventional thinker. What was up and who was down on Dec 1 is old news, he says. He hired the Kronk Gym’s SugarHill Steward, a nephew of the late great Emanuel Steward, for a reason, he said.

Wilder and Fury made some bold predictions on Monday. Mikey Williams / Top Rank

“I’m not going to get a decision in the United States,’’ said Fury, who appeared to be winning on the scorecards before he was knocked down, including a crushing knockdown that saw him get up in dramatic fashion in the 12th. “That’s why I hired SugarHill.’’

Power is the Kronk style, which is what Fury promises he will employ often and early in the rematch.

“I’m going to knock him out with a Tommy Hearns-like right,’’ Fury said.

Yeah, right, said Wilder, who believes Fury promised the unlikely KO because he’s nervous.

“I consider Fury a con man, a con artist,’’ Wilder said.

Fury also said he plans to bewilder Wider with elusive tactics, a Fury skill proven repeatedly over the years. He promises that Wilder won’t be able to touch him with anything, especially that right hand.

“If I’m stupid enough to get hit with that,” Fury said, “then I’m stupid enough to get knocked out.”

Tyson Fury won’t risk opening cut in training camp

Tyson Fury said he won’t risk opening the cut he suffered against Otto Wallin during training camp for his rematch with Deontay Wilder.

LOS ANGELES – The scar is evident above Tyson Fury’s right eye. For Deontay Wilder, it’s a target. For Fury, it’s a risk.

Fury, who needed 42 stitches for a cut suffered in a bloody decision over Otto Wallin on Sept. 14, said the possibility of rupturing the scar tissue is a risk not worth taking in training for his Feb. 22nd rematch against Wilder at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand.

“If I’m going to get cut, it’s going to be in the fight,’’ Fury said when Boxing Junkie asked him about the condition of the four-month-old wound.

Fury has been in camp, training in Las Vegas, for 10 days. He was asked how it felt the first time a punch landed on the scar while sparring.

Tyson Fury needed 42 stitches to close the cut he suffered against Otto Wallin in his last fight. AP Photo / Isaac Brekken

“I can’t risk it,’’ he said to another question posed by Boxing Junkie.

Wilder is expected to target the scar early in a bout scheduled for 12 rounds.

“If I open up that cut, it’s over,’’ said Wilder, who also said he believed that the Wallin fight would have been stopped because of the cut if not for the prospect of a rich rematch.

Tyson Fury reveals sparring partners … where’s Anthony Joshua?

Tyson Fury revealed his sparring partners for his rematch with Deontay Wilder on Feb. 22. Anthony Joshua isn’t among them.

Tyson Fury’s sparring partners for his rematch with Deontay Wilder on Feb. 22 have been revealed. And none is named Anthony Joshua.

Joshua, who holds three of the four major heavyweight titles, offered to spar with Fury ahead of the Wilder fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas – and Fury accepted – but it appears that unusual arrangement won’t become reality.

Fury will spar with newbies George Fox (3-0, 0 KOs), David Adeleye (1-0, 1 KO) and Jared Anderson (2-0, 2 KOs), according to talkSPORT. Adeleye and Anderson are both listed at 6-foot-4 on Boxrec.com, three inches shorter than Wilder. Fox’s height wasn’t listed but he appears to be as tall at the 6-9 Fury in a photo.

Joshua reiterated that the offer to spar with his British rival was genuine … sort of.

“You know when I look back at some of the s— I say, I think, ‘Why did I say that?’” Joshua told talkSPORT. “So now we’re going to talk about it and give more publicized things to talk about. Fury is a world-class fighter and I’m a world-class fighter that is still trying to improve so I can become like an elite-level fighter.

“Sparring Fury is only going to do me good, in my opinion. So I’m never too big for my boots where I can’t learn anymore. So that opportunity, for me to spar Fury, is for my own benefit as well.”

Joshua also reiterated that he hopes Fury beats Wilder to set up an all-U.K. title fight, which was another reason to help him in camp.

Said Joshua: “And the reason why I thought about it and the reason why it came to fruition for me is because I feel like, if Fury was to win that fight [against Wilder], I think he would be more inclined to fight me next and quicker than Wilder would.”

Of course, as talkSPORT pointed out, Joshua could still show up unannounced at the gym.

Tyson Fury at 400 pounds serves as cautionary tale

Tyson Fury took a moment to recall when he was walking around at 400 pounds, suicidal and depressed, by posting an image on social media.

Tyson Fury remembers when he was the 400-pound elephant in the room.

As he prepares to face off against Deontay Wilder on Feb. 22, the Manchester heavyweight took a moment on social media to remember when he was at rock-bottom, posting a photo depicting him at the absolute nadir of his life – 150 pounds overweight, depressed and utterly lost

He used his misfortune as a cautionary tale.

“When someone says you can’t do something,” Fury wrote, “look at this and remember anything is possible. This is me at over 400lb.”

Grainy though the image is, the rolls of fat around Fury’s midsection are unmistakable, a reminder of the strenuous rehabilitation that he endured over the past couple of years to whip himself back into title contention.

Again, it didn’t look so good for Fury.

After upsetting then-unified heavyweight titleholder Wladimir Klitschko in 2015, Fury fell apart at the seams, unable to handle his newly-wrought fame. His career, or rather his life, quickly descended into a dark morass of cocaine and alcohol binges. It got so bad, he claims, that one night while on the road he tried to take his own life.

Now all that’s in the past, presumably, as Fury has scripted a remarkable turnaround, highlighted by his disputed draw with Wilder in their first fight, in 2018. Fury provided the fight’s most-memorable moment when he came back from a devastating right hand-left hook combination that put him flat on his back. Fury not only beat the count, but he roared back to put Wilder on his backfoot. 

The rematch, a joint pay-per-view effort between Fox and ESPN that will take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, figures to be one of the most intriguing bouts of the early 2020 schedule. 

Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury II loser can get third fight

A clause in the contract for the Tyson Fury-Deontay Wilder rematch on Feb. 22 could lead to a heavyweight trilogy.

A clause in the contract for the Tyson Fury-Deontay Wilder rematch on Feb. 22 could lead to a heavyweight trilogy.

Frank Warren, Fury’s co-promoter, told U.K.-based talkSPORT that the contract allows the loser of the fight to exercise a clause mandating one more bout.

The loser “has the option to activate a third fight,’’ Warren said.

An immediate third bout could knock out Anthony Joshua’s hope for a bout with the winner later in 2020. It’s still not clear what Joshua intends to do. He has as many options as he has belts. His future is a multiple-choice question.

Even if Fury wins the rematch and Wilder exercises the trilogy clause, however, Warren hopes for an eventual all-U.K. showdown between Fury and Joshua. Warren also suggests another option for Joshua. Forget all the belts.

“If I was Anthony Joshua, I wouldn’t fight again until we know the winner of this [Wilder-Fury] fight,” Warren told the U.K.’s Daily Telegraph. “I’d let them strip me of my titles and not fight anybody until the big one.”

Bob Arum says Tyson Fury is Ali-esque in terms of self-promotion

Promoter Bob Arum compared Tyson Fury to Muhammad Ali in terms of his ability to sell himself.

Promoter Bob Arum paid Tyson Fury the ultimate compliment. He compared his heavyweight to a former client, Muhammad Ali.

No, Arum wasn’t saying Fury is as good Ali inside the ring, although he does think highly of his Fury’s boxing ability. He was talking about the Englishman’s ability to sell himself.

“He is a promoter’s dream and it reminds me of when I promoted Ali,” Arum told BoxingScene.com. “Ali was such a brilliant self-promoter. … A lot of people would … give me credit for having him say this or that. Of course, I had nothing to do with it.

“It is the same with Tyson fury. The only input I have is to have my staff tell him where he has to be at a certain time. You don’t tell Tyson Fury what to say.”

Arum also believes Fury carries himself well in the ring. And he did mention Ali.

“A little bit of Ali, a little bit of George Foreman,” Arum said. “He blends a lot of the strengths of those guys together, with a little bit of Roberto Duran.”

Arum thinks less of Deontay Wilder, who Fury will face in a rematch on Feb. 22 in Las Vegas. Although Arum gives Wilder credit in one respect.

“I haven’t seen a guy with that one-punch power,” he said. “I’ve never seen anything like it. It is actually accentuated by the fact he doesn’t know how to box. He is a horrible boxer. He puts on a clinic of how not to box, but he has that right hand and it is like a laser that will find the most vulnerable part of his opponent’s anatomy.”

We’ll see if it finds a part of Fury’s anatomy.

Frank Warren comfortable with Tyson Fury’s change of trainers

Promoter Frank Warren said he’s fully confident Tyson Fury “knows what he’s doing in bringing in Javan SugarHill Steward.”

A new trainer is sometimes interpreted as a sign of uncertainty, if not turmoil, but Tyson Fury promoter Frank Warren is comfortable with Fury’s decision to fire Ben Davison and hire SugarHill Steward before the heavyweight rematch with Deontay Wilder on Feb. 22.

No worries, Warren says

“I know there is some concern about Fury changing trainers ahead of such a colossal clash,’’ Warren told The Mirror, a U.K. publication.  “I’m certainly sad to see him split with Ben Davison because the pair were great together.

“But when Fury appointed Davison as the man to help him get back to the top many questioned him using such a young trainer. How wrong they were.’’

Davison was a key in helping Fury fight his way back into the championship mix after he slipped into a lifestyle that included more drugging, drinking and dining than training. Fury was reportedly about 400 pounds about a year before his controversial draw with Wilder on Dec. 1, 2018 at Los Angeles’ Staples Center.

But a difficult decision over then-unknown Otto Wallin on Sept. 14 in Las Vegas generated widespread criticism of Davison in a fight that left Fury badly bloodied. On Dec. 15, Davison was fired and Steward was hired.

Fury, who says he is already in camp for the rematch, said he made the move because he had grown “stale.’’ He said he already had a relationship with Steward, the former Javan Hill and a nephew of the late Hall of Famer Emanuel Steward.

“I am fully confident he knows what he’s doing in bringing in Javan SugarHill Steward to take the corner for the Wilder rematch,’’ Warren said. “Few fighters know what’s best for them (more) than Fury and he will not have made the decision lightly.”

Anthony Joshua reiterates that heavyweight title goes through him

Anthony Joshua is conducting a campaign to remind everyone that he has most of the heavyweight belts and most of the clout.

Anthony Joshua isn’t fighting anybody in February, yet he continues to keep himself squarely in the middle of all the talk swirling around the Feb. 22 Deontay Wilder-Tyson Fury rematch on Fox/ESPN pay-per-view.

It’s still not clear whether he’ll be Fury’s sparring partner or in training for his own fight, a mandatory defense against Kubrat Pulev about a month from now. Maybe he’ll do both. Maybe not.

But it is abundantly clear he will keep himself in the conversation as perhaps the only option for the Fury-Wilder winner. It’s almost as if Joshua is conducting a political campaign, tirelessly reminding everyone that he has most of the belts and most of the clout. Fury-Wilder II looms as the biggest heavyweight fight in years, but Joshua is talking as if the real biggie – the true main event – will happen later in the year. Against him and only him.

That might be why he wondered aloud on Sky Sports this week why Wilder has only one belt in 43 fights while he has three in 24.

Now he has turned to iTV to explain why he’s picking Fury, already a slight betting favorite, to win the sequel at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand. Above all, he says, he thinks it would be easier to put together a fight with Fury than it would Wilder.

“The reason why I thought about it and why it came to fruition for me is because I feel like if Fury was to win that fight, I think he’d be more inclined to fight me next and quicker, than Wilder would,” Joshua said.

A Fury victory would also set up an all-U.K. showdown, perhaps for all of the pieces of the heavyweight title. Between now and then, however, belts and bucks could change hands.

Timing and circumstances might make it hard for Joshua to hold onto the three belts he took back in a rematch decision over Andy Ruiz Jr. on Dec. 7 in Saudi Arabia. He wants to keep those belts. But mostly he wants what everybody else wants: The Fury-Wilder winner

“That’s why I was rooting for Fury to win, because I just want to fight and collect my last belt,’’ Joshua said. “If I was a betting man, I think Fury wins.”