Tag: Fury vs. Wilder III

Tyson Fury now says he plans to fight until he’s 40 years old

Heavyweight titleholder Tyson Fury, 31, now says that he could around another eight-plus years.

Tyson Fury said after his knockout of Deontay Wilder in February that he planned to fight two more times and then retire because of the sport’s sometimes-overwhelming demands.

Well, time and some rest can provide a different perspective. The 31-year-old heavyweight titleholder now says that he could be around another eight-plus years.

“I’m going to fight on ’til I’m 40 years old,” he told ESPN. “I’ve been thinking about it, and there isn’t much else to do anyways. So yeah, I may as well keep fighting. I don’t see anyone out there that can challenge me anyway.

“I just flattened the best one out there, the toughest opponent out there is Deontay Wilder, and we all saw what happened to him the last time out.”

Fury told ITV a few weeks after the Wilder fight the end of his career was near.

“I’ll come back, and I’ll have two more fights, and hopefully we’ll sail into the sunset,” he said. “It is a roller coaster of emotions, and everything else. And to be away from the kids and away from getting up early for school runs and the crying and all that stuff, and the screaming and shouting, it takes a lot to come back to that after being away for nearly three months, to get adjusted back to that life.”

Fury and Wilder are scheduled to fight for a third time but, because of the coronavirus pandemic, no date or site is set.

There is also talk of Fury going directly into a showdown with Anthony Joshua for all four of the major titles, but Wilder and Joshua’s scheduled opponent, Kubrat Pulev, would have to agree to step aside.

Tyson Fury dismisses as ‘sad’ Deontay Wilder’s contention that Fury’s not champ

Tyson Fury dismissed Deontay Wilder’s contention that Fury isn’t a heavyweight champion as “sad.”

Tyson Fury responded to Deontay Wilder’s contention that Tyson Fury isn’t a heavyweight titleholder by calling the comment “sad.”

Wilder said on The PBC Podcast that he doesn’t recognize Fury as the heavyweight champion because they still have unfinished business even though Fury took his belt by a seventh-round knockout on Feb. 22.

They are scheduled to fight a third time before the end of the year, although the exact date is unclear in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

“It’s not over,” said Wilder, who drew with Fury in their first fight. “In my eyes I don’t see Fury as champion. It’s still going. He ain’t champion yet. We still have got one more fight left.”

Fury responded on Instagram. He wrote: “Keep letting yourself down @bronzebomber it’s sad, It was you I smashed that’s the truth. Just admit it and move on, it’s just a fight you win some you lose some that’s boxing pal.”

Wilder was criticized for blaming the loss on the costume he wore into the ring, which he said weakened his legs. On the podcast, Wilder said he simply wasn’t himself.

“People that know boxing know that it wasn’t Deontay Wilder that night,” he said. “I was a zombie that night.”

Deontay Wilder reveals biceps injury, says Tyson Fury not yet champion

Deontay Wilder revealed that he injured his biceps in his rematch with Tyson Fury and added that Fury isn’t champ pending third fight.

Deontay Wilder spoke cryptically during an interview on The PBC Podcast.

The former heavyweight champion was careful not to make excuses for his knockout loss to Tyson Fury on Feb. 22 after he was criticized for blaming the costume he wore into the ring. And while he indicated that he carried additional detrimental baggage into the ring, he wouldn’t say what it was other than to rail against crooked nature of boxing.

Wilder did talk openly about a few things, though.

One, he revealed that a biceps injured suffered in the rematch with Fury required surgery. He said he’s recovering from the operation and won’t be able to train until sometime next month.

Two, he said he doesn’t recognize Fury as the heavyweight champion because they still have unfinished business. They are scheduled to fight a third time before the end of the year, although the exact date is unclear in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

And, three, he made it clear that he intends to come back stronger than he was before his setback.

Wilder wouldn’t reveal in the interview exactly what was hanging over his head but he repeated that he wasn’t himself, which even Fury suggested might be the case. He mentioned more than once that he went into retreat mode at the opening bell, which isn’t characteristic of him.

“There are a lot of things I don’t want to talk about at this moment in time,” he said. “… I’ve been in the sport for a very long time. People have seen me fight all over the world for a very long time. So People automatically know how I am, how I should look.

“People that know boxing know that it wasn’t Deontay Wilder that night. I was a zombie that night. Like I said, I can’t talk about a lot of things, but it wasn’t Deontay Wilder that night. … [From] the first fight into the second fight it was two different people.

”… It was like I wasn’t even there, for real. I don’t know how to say it. I wasn’t there. That’s all I can tell you. From the … start, I wasn’t there, my whole body, everything. But everything is going to be alright, trust me.”

Wilder didn’t suggest he lost the fight because of the biceps injury but he mentioned it without saying which arm was injured and when it happened.

He said he’s healing nicely and looks forward to getting back in the gym. In the meantime, he’s enjoying time with his family in Alabama during lock down.

“Recovery is going well,” he said. “I’m in therapy. I ended up injuring it during my last fight, somewhere up in there. But everything is going great with it. I’m just focusing on recovery, getting myself back to full health, getting ready, hopefully, when this coronavirus is out of the way, getting back to camp and getting ready to go again sometime at the end of the year.”

He was referring to his third fight with Fury. Fury took Wilder’s alphabet title – and established himself as the top heavyweight – as a result of his seventh-round knockout in Las Vegas, but Wilder obviously believes that the fate of neither fighter has been settled.

“We can only get stronger, learn from a lot of situations and get better and better,” Wilder said. “It’s not over. In my eyes I don’t see Fury as champion. It’s still going. He ain’t champion yet. We still have got one more fight left.”

Tyson Fury surprised that Deontay Wilder wants a third fight

Tyson Fury said he beat up Deontay Wilder so badly in their rematch that he’s surprised Wilder wants more.

Tyson Fury was surprised that Deontay Wilder wants another go at him.

Fury beat up and then knocked out Wilder in the seventh round of their rematch on Feb. 22. Still, Wilder exercised a clause in their contract that allowed for a third fight. The two drew in 2018.

“Yeah, I was surprised because it was a one-sided fight,” Fury told talkSPORT. “He didn’t win a second of that second fight, but in this game it’s a short game and a short career, and there’s an old saying: ‘We’ve gotta make hay while the sun shines.’

“And for Deontay Wilder at the age of 34, how many big fights out there are left for him after a domination like he had? So I understand where he’s coming from. I understand that he has probably a lot of bills to pay.

“I don’t know the man’s personal circumstances, but from what I’ve seen of these American fighters and sportsmen, they always live a rock star’s lifestyle, even though they’re not rock stars.

“They go through a lot of money quite quickly. Just look at Mike Tyson. He went through like a billion dollars or whatever he went through. So I’m sure that the money side of it is the tempting thing.

“I don’t think it’s too tempting to go in there and get an absolute beating like he did before, but he would be tempted by the amount of money that he would receive because they go through it quite quickly.

“I think that’s the reason he’s taking the fight, for the money.”

Fury said he expected more from Wilder in the fight.

“To be honest I was quite disappointed in the challenge that Wilder brought,” he said. “Because I did train for 12 rounds at any pace and put myself through hell and back for 10 weeks in the training camp.

“And I prepared for the best fighter on the planet, I prepared for the most vicious puncher on the earth that there’s ever been. And I was quite disappointed because it wasn’t the challenge that I expected.

“Although it was a fantastic victory for myself and it was a great fight, it just did seem that Wilder maybe wasn’t himself. Maybe all the excuses he made, some of them were true. Maybe his legs were sore from the costume, maybe he did have the flu, maybe he did have a broken arm or a bone in his back or whatever.

“I’m not sure because that wasn’t the Deontay Wilder that I prepared for. That wasn’t the animal I put myself through all those hours in training for.  Like I said, it would be one of my easiest fights, and it was. I believe that was one of my easiest fights apart from the early knockovers that I had.

“And on this level you don’t usually get that sort of easy victory, with heavyweight champions of the world. The guy’s been heavyweight champion of the world and made 10 title defenses, knocked out every single person.

“And to go in there with me, who’s usually a boxer, counter-puncher, master-skilled boxer, and get absolutely destroyed in a few rounds. I trained for an absolute battle royale and I didn’t get that, so hopefully there’s a couple of fighters out there that, when I do go into training camp and I do serious training, that they will be worthy of the challenge.

“I’m not in boxing to be heavyweight champion or win some belts or anything. I’m here to give the fans what they want, battle royales, and the best fights that can be made. From what I’m seeing, if that’s the best out there, then I’m not gonna get the worthy challengers that I crave.”

The tentative date for the third Fury-Wilder fight is July 18 at the MGM Grand, the same venue at which the second fight took place.