WBC heavyweight king Tyson Fury has countered rival Deontay Wilder’s fanciful claims of fight rigging in their rematch in February.
Wilder was dropped twice and trounced in seven rounds by Fury nine months ago, but seems to have taken his sole defeat particularly badly with a number of unfounded and wild allegations.
After originally blaming his elaborate ring walk costume for being too heavy and scapegoating respected trainer Mark Breland for stopping the one-sided fight, Wilder last week claimed Fury had secreted weights in his gloves and that his water had been spiked with former trainer Breland somehow part of the ‘plot’.
Fury has now responded to those quite ridiculous and baseless suggestions. “I think he has lost his marbles!” Fury told TalkSport’s Fight Night.
“First of all it was the suit, then it was the bicep injury, then his trainer was on our team, then the referee was against him, then I had weights in my gloves…
“Now someone has spiked his water…but it’s one of those things, isn’t it?”
Fury and Wilder were contracted to meet a third time (having previously drawn in 2018), but the American’s nagging bicep injury and the havoc caused by the Covid-19 Pandemic saw that fight fall through. The Gypsy King is now set to face German Agit Kabayel in London on December 5, ahead of a projected two-fight series with unified champion Anthony Joshua in 2021.
“The original date was July 18,” continued Fury. “That didn’t happen because [Wilder] had an injury so it got put back three months to October, then that didn’t happen because they were trying to get a venue.
“And then they had three dates in December – 5th, 12th, 19th – which I agreed to all them and obviously that didn’t happen. So, I’m not going to wait around forever.”
Main image: Ryan Hafey/Premier Boxing Champions.