Tyson Fury has been looking back on his career and has special praise for the one man who presented him with the most problems to solve, saying he has ‘the heart of a lion.’
35-year-old lineal and WBC champion Fury remains unbeaten in his 34-fight career so far, though he does have one draw on his ledger. That was his first fight with Deontay Wilder, which many think Fury did enough to win.
He famously rose from the dead to beat the count after a heavy knockdown in the last round and came back swinging to get the draw. He went on to beat Wilder more comprehensively in two further fights but not until Wilder showed true girt after being knocked down and getting back up several times himself.
Since the third and final fight in October 2021, Wilder has fought just once against Robert Helenius, though has been in protracted negotiations to fight both Andy Ruiz and Anthony Joshua, with the latter still something of a possibility.
Speaking to TNT Sports Boxing, Fury had plenty of praise for his most challenging opponent so far.
“Fair play to Deontay, he has got the heart of a lion. No matter what he says about me or what we say about each other, you have to admire someone you fought three times.”
Fury then references the many excuses Wilder gave in the wake of his losses but still spoke of his admiration for the American.
“Whether I had horseshoes in my gloves or he had his suit on too heavy, I respect the fact we’ve had the trilogy and knocked lumps out of each other, and probably knocked years off each other’s life. He can’t believe he’s lost, he just had to think of a reason. There were so many excuses for why he lost and I think it’s just stupid really.”
Since fighting Wilder, Fury has knocked out Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora, and next up is Francis Ngannou in Riyadh, then the huge undisputed clash with Oleksander Usyk in Saudi Arabia which is a fight many are struggling to call.