By: Sean Crose
Lineal and WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury appears to be back in the gym preparing for his October 9th fight with Deontay Wilder. “Good morning, people,” a smiling Fury says in a video presented by FightHype. “GK is back!” The video then cuts from the man sipping from a mug while in a bathroom to footage of Fury training in a gym, where he can be seen on a treadmill, doing weight work, and doing leg work. The entire brief video is replete with upbeat music and the occasional sound of Fury roaring in motivation. The whole thing is classic Fury.
Fury also posted a tweet on Friday showing a picture of Wilder, who he will now be facing for the third time. “This man is a real piece of work,” reads the tweet, “a real bully excuse maker. Not a warrior or a man at all. Beat the mug 2 times. I’ve battered him and his trainer. But still talking shit. Real pussies.” Although there may be genuine bad blood between the two men, Fury and Wilder’s recent social media activity has the whiff of promotion about it. There are tickets to sell, after all, and potential pay per view customers to entice.
Fury first met Wilder late in 2018. He seemed to dominate more of the fight, but was nearly knocked out in the 12th and final round, leading the bout to be declared a draw. The two men met again just over a year later. Only this time, Fury – under the tutelage of Sugar Hill Steward – was the aggressor. After completely dominating his man, Fury was declared the victor after Wilder’s co-trainer, Mark Breland, tossed in the towel in the seventh round. Wilder has since claimed numerous outside factors led to his defeat, a claim Fury disregards.
Since that time, one strange thing after another has occurred. The pandemic – perhaps the strangest thing the world has recently witnessed – put a halt to a signed for third battle. Then Fury went off to fight fellow titlist Anthony Joshua – only that fight was prevented from happening thanks to the ruling of a California arbitrator. Then Fury and Wilder signed to fight in July. Then Fury came down with Covid and the third battle with Wilder was pushed back to the fall.
Provided the bout actually goes through this time, it may prove to once again be an intriguing matchup. “You say you’re a semi truck but I’m a freight train,” Wilder tweeted at Fury on Wednesday. “Better get your weight up.”
