Silent assassins: Fury vs Wilder 3 and the six-minute staredown
It’s not often prize fighters sell an upcoming event by saying precisely nothing, but that’s exactly what happened in Los Angeles on Tuesday.
Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder engaged in what might be the longest staredown in boxing history to kick off the countdown to their trilogy fight in Las Vegas on Saturday July 24.
‘The Gypsy King’ and ‘The Bronze Bomber’ locked eyes and stood in silence for fully six minutes, that silence only cut by members of their teams hurling insults back and forth.
It was pure theatre, with neither man apparently wanting to break first and move away. They made this more than the normal media duty, there was a mental edge to be gained - in their minds at least.
Eventually it was Wilder (42-1-1) who blinked first, putting on his sunglasses and walking away as Fury’s team cheered and shouted “we’ve won”. Were they right? We’ll find out on July 24.
Fury blasts ‘weak’ Wilder
The other noteworthy point from Tuesday’s gathering in L.A. was Wilder refusing to take questions during the televised portion of the press conference.
He did step up to the podium to provide one chilling soundbite - promising: ““Enough has been said. It’s time to cut off his head. Come July the 24, there will be bloodshed. Get your tickets now and I’ll see you soon.”
Fury (30-0-1) though was distinctly unimpressed by all of that, describing Wilder as “weak” and claiming his silence shows just how much physical and mental impact their February 2020 rematch had on the American.
“The beating from the last fight has had a physical, mental and emotional effect on his life. I was worried about him after the way I beat him.
“Deontay Wilder is a one-trick pony. He’s got great one-punch knockout power. I’m going to run him over like I’m an 18-wheeler.
“I guarantee he doesn’t go past where he did in the second fight (Round 7). I’m looking for a big knockout straight away.”
‘SugarHill’ on Fury KO power
July 24 will be only the second time that Fury has fought with trainer Javan ‘SugarHill’ Steward in his corner. The results the first time around were quite something.
Fury surprised everybody in February 2020 by coming in heavier and more aggressive than he had for the first fight with Wilder (in December 2018). He was destructive and dominant en route to that stoppage victory.
Since then ‘SugarHill’ has had plenty of time to instill more of that Kronk mentality into Fury, but he says there is only one thing that has really changed - albeit a hugely valuable one.
“The amount of time me and Tyson have had together since joining forces hasn’t changed anything. Our chemistry has always been there. The only thing is, is that over that time, he now has the power to knock a man out with one punch.
“I’m glad he’s added that kind of power to go with his boxing skills and IQ. He now has the one-punch knockout power. He just needs to land that one punch.”
Wilder will have a new trainer in his corner on July 24, with Malik Scott stepping into the role after that highly-publicised parting of the ways with Mark Breland.
Scott says Wilder has made real adjustments to his lifestyle and his preparation, and he is in confident mood as all thoughts now turn to fight night in Las Vegas.
“I only see this fight going one way. If you just let Fury do what he wants, he’ll do way more than what you want.
“I have no doubt that Deontay will become the two-time heavyweight champion of the world and it will come by knockout.”
On the line in Fury vs Wilder 3 will be Fury’s WBC, Ring magazine and lineal world heavyweight titles. ‘The Gypsy King’ also knows that the potential carrot of a showdown with Anthony Joshua still remains should he come out on top again.
Joshua meanwhile is expected to defend his IBF, WBA and WBO titles against Oleksandr Usyk in late September.