By: Sean Crose
“This is a very special Happy Birthday message to me old mate Deontay ‘The Bronze Bomber’ Wilder. Have a fantastic day, Wilder. Thank you for the great fights that we had, the trilogy. Great, great fighter. Awesome fighter, and I hope you have a fantastic day with you and your family and I hope that God blesses you abundantly. All the best. Lots of love, from your old pal, the Gypsy King. All the best. God bless, Wilder.”
They may be the biggest ring enemies this side of Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez, but things finally seem to be cooling down after the third fight between WBC and lineal heavyweight king Tyson Fury and arch rival (and former WBC king) Deontay Wilder. Just weeks after their instant classic of a bout, Fury took to social media on Friday to speak directly to his former foe, who had just turned 36. Things have come a long way from where they were a short time ago.
After meeting for the first time in 2018, where their battle was ruled a controversial draw, the two men met again in early 2020. Fury made easy work of the brutally hard hitting American the second time around, stopping Wilder in the seventh. Wilder made all kinds of wild accusations against Fury, and even his own team, afterwards…all of which showcased a considerable amount of bad blood.
By the time the third battle rolled around, the two super sized heavyweights appeared to be the furthest things from friends. Fortunately for fans, that third match itself was explosive. Fury dropped Wilder in the third, only to have Wilder drop him twice in the fourth. The battle raged on until Fury knocked his arch rival down again in the tenth, then did so once more in eleventh, leading the referee to finally step in and end the war in Fury’s favor.
Wilder refused to make peace with Fury immediately after the match, but a few days later did so warmly via social media. That, coupled with Friday’s Birthday Greeting, may mean the bad blood has finally vanished. They may never be the best of friends, but Fury’s and Wilder’s names will forever be synonymous with each other. It only makes sense that the two colorful fighters try to make the best of it. Plus, the trilogy they both took part of has been a gift to fight fans…something else the outspoken former opponents have in common.