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LAS VEGAS − Tyson Fury defends his World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight boxing crown tomorrow when he faces Deontay Wilder for the third − and probably final − instalment of an acrimonious three-year ring rivalry.
A tortuous build-up marked by bitter legal wrangling, a Covid-19 outbreak and profanity-laced accusations of cheating comes to a head when Tyson and Deontay clamber through the ropes at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
If Wednesday’s ill-tempered final press conference is any guide, the stage is set for another explosive contest between the undefeated Tyson, the self-styled “Gypsy King” from Britain, and Deontay, the hard-hitting “Bronze Bomber” from Alabama.
The two heavyweights fought to a bruising draw in their first fight in Los Angeles in 2018, when Tyson somehow survived a crushing 12th round knockdown after outboxing Deontay for much of the contest.
Tyson (30-0-1, 21 knockouts) then dethroned Deontay in February last year, dishing out a one-sided beating en route to a seventh-round knockout that emphatically ended Deontay’s five-year reign as WBC champion.
Neither man has fought since that fight 20 months ago, and Tyson was forced to scrap plans for a money-spinning bout with former WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua, after an independent arbitrator in May ruled that Deontay was entitled to a rematch for a third fight.
An outbreak of Covid-19 in Tyson’s camp, which affected the British champion and several members of his entourage, forced the fight to be delayed further from July to October.
Meanwhile, Deontay insists his previous defeat to Tyson was an aberration, offering a series of outlandish and unproven explanations for the loss, ranging from glove-tampering to having his water spiked by his former trainer.
Tyson pounced on those comments by Deontay (42-1-1, 41 knockouts) when the two men shared a stage at a press conference on Wednesday.
“He knows what he’s saying is lies,” Tyson said of Deontay’s cheating claims. “And deep down in his soul, he knows that he lost. He lost the first time, he lost the second time and he's going to lose the third time.”
Deontay has replaced his trainer since last year’s loss to Tyson, sacking Mark Breland − who he had accused of throwing in the towel too soon − and replacing him with Malik Scott, a 40-year-old former heavyweight, who suffered a first round knockout to Deontay during his own career.
Malik says he has worked on expanding Deontay’s attacking arsenal, adding weapons to a thunderous right hand that is regarded as the most fearsome in heavyweight boxing.
“Deontay has good fundamentals, it's just a lot of times, he doesn’t use them,” Malik said.
However, Deontay says he has been “reinvented”.
“I’ve dedicated myself and I’ve devoted my time and my body,” Deontay said. “I’m ready to reintroduce myself to the world.”
Whether the reinvented version of Deontay is good enough to outfox Tyson, whose superior size, movement and counter-punching skills proved too much for the American in their previous meetings, remains to be seen.
Tyson has been unimpressed by talk of a new and improved version of Deontay.
“I don’t make much of it because a lot of people speak a lot of words,” Tyson said. “I hope he brings a better fight − because last time was disappointing, to say the least. I trained for a war, and it was a one-sided beatdown.”
Nevertheless, Tyson maintains that Deontay, now, is a more dangerous opponent, given what is at stake. A repeat of last year’s knockout would nudge Deontay towards the wilderness of the heavyweight division.
“This is his make-or-break fight,” Tyson said. “Everyone expects me to go in there and beat him down − which I will − but you can never write Deontay Wilder off because he’s at his most dangerous now.”
What might lie in store for Tyson after tomorrow’s bout is unclear.
The heavyweight division is still digesting the fallout from Anthony Joshua’s comprehensive defeat to Ukraine’s Oleksandr Usyk last month.
Anthony has vowed to pursue a rematch with Oleksandr in 2022, meaning an Anthony-Tyson fight is unlikely anytime soon.
The fact that there is no clear pathway towards a unified champion is a source of frustration for Tyson’s US promoter, the legendary impresario, Bob Arum.
While Tyson insists he is not looking past this weekend, Bob said the long-range picture should be clearer.
“If people were sensible, then the solution would be obvious,” Bob Arum told the BBC this week. “But this is boxing, so nobody is sensible.
“What should happen is that Tyson wins on Saturday. Everybody should agree that he fights (Oleksandr) Usyk next for the unified title, with a provision that the winner fights (Anthony) Joshua. If this was a sensible sport, that's what would happen − but it's not.” – AFP, October 8, 2021
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