By: Hans Themistode
For the first time in well over a year, Deontay Wilder met face to face with the man who handed him the first defeat of his career in Tyson Fury. The two originally faced off in February of 2020 with Fury walking away with the one-sided win via seventh-round stoppage win.
Since then, the two have gone back and forth in the courtroom as Wilder sought to enforce his contractually mandated rematch. After several months of deliberation, Wilder was awarded the winner of their dispute.
During the entire ordeal, Wilder stood mostly silent as Fury would routinely rip him in the public eye. Now, after locking in an official fight date of July 24th, Wilder believes that the time for talking is just about over with.
“Enough has been said,” said Wilder during today’s press conference. “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, 32, was originally blindsided by Wilder’s victory in court. The current WBC and Ring Magazine heavyweight titlist was in the midst of negotiating an undisputed showdown against unified champion Anthony Joshua. Those plans, however, have fallen by the wayside as Wilder will, in fact, get exactly what he was looking for.
Recently, Fury revealed that training camp to face Wilder for a third time has officially begun. And while he’s confident that he’ll have more than enough time to deal with Wilder, the Alabama native disclosed that he has been working on his craft ever since suffering the upset loss.
For a number of months now, Wilder has unveiled several workout videos of himself and trainer Malik Scott. While the power was still evident, the Alabama native also showed off a more refined game, working on his jab, head movement and work to the body.
At no point over the course of his career has Wilder ever been lauded for his boxing ability but considering that his patent one-punch knockout power couldn’t lead him to victory, Wilder has worked on the rest of his game. With the added time off, the former long-reigning champion simply can’t wait to show off the new wrinkles to his game.
“I’ve been training non-stop during the pandemic and I’ve been building. All this time between fights is going to be good for me and bad for him. I’ve had nothing but time to progress. Whatever he does on July 24, we will have an answer for it. I’m training very hard and my mind is very violent. I’m ready to go.”