Notebook: Fury, Wilder stare each other down for 6 minutes at presser for third fight
Notebook: Fury, Wilder stare each other down for 6 minutes at presser for third fight
Lopez has Covid-19, Kambosos fight ppd.; more
For six minutes — equal to two full rounds of boxing — heavyweight world champion Tyson Fury and former titlist Deontay Wilder stood face to face in silence and stared into each other’s eyes for the traditional face off at the conclusion of the kickoff news conference for their third fight on Tuesday in Los Angeles.
There was no trash talking, no sudden movements and a lot of jangled nerves for their handlers hoping it would not turn physical.
They stared and stared and stared until they were finally broken apart and Wilder turned and walked away to end the longest staredown in recent memory.
It was an epic scene to conclude an unusual news conference in which the usually very vocal Wilder, other than making a brief opening statement, sat stoically and did not utter a word even when asked a question by moderator Crystina Poncher.
Instead, Wilder’s new trainer, Malik Scott, a longtime friend and Wilder camp member and former pro heavyweight, spoke for him throughout the news conference. Wilder sat with dark sunglasses and headphones on and played with his cell phone.
Wilder’s lone words came at the start of the program: “I’d love to thank my lord and savior, Jesus Christ. I’d like to thank my amazing team. And I’d like to thank my strong legal team as well. Look, enough said. Time to cut off his head. And come July the 24th, there will be bloodshed. Get your tickets now. I’ll see you soon.”
Wilder got the third fight with Fury, which will headline a joint ESPN/Fox Sports pay-per-view card on July 24 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, because of the legal team he praised. It won an arbitration case Wilder brought against Fury to force the fight and prevent him from going forward with a planned August fight for the undisputed world title against three-belt titlist Anthony Joshua.
Fury and Wilder met for the first time in December 2018 at Staples Center in Los Angeles and the fight was ruled a split draw after England’s Fury (30-0-1, 21 KOs), 32, outboxed Wilder for long stretches but Wilder (42-1-1, 41 KOs), 35, of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, scored two knockdowns, one in the ninth round and a massive one in the 12th round that Fury barely survived.
They met in a hugely hyped rematch on Feb. 22, 2020 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and Fury dominated to retain the lineal title and take Wilder’s WBC belt. He dropped Wilder in the third and fifth rounds and was teeing off on him in the seventh round when Wilder’s now-fired co-trainer Mark Breland threw in the towel to end the bout. Neither has fought since.
After the loss, Wilder immediately exercised his contractual right to a rematch but ultimately had to go to arbitration to enforce it while also making numerous accusations and excuses for the loss. Among them he said Breland had conspired with Fury’s team and spiked his water to make him weak, claimed the costume he wore for his ring walk was too heavy and left him with no energy, and accused Fury of tampering with his gloves to give him an advantage.
When it came time to face Fury in person and the media, Wilder declined to answer any questions about those subjects or any others.
Fury, who spent much of the press conference shirtless with a huge crucifix hanging from his neck, was his usual jovial and talkative self. When Poncher asked for his opinion on why Wilder refused to speak, Fury said the silence must mean he is in Wilder’s head.
“It shows how weak of a mental person he is and how much of the beating from the last fight has took an emotional, physical effect on his life,” Fury said. “I was worried about Deontay Wilder for quite a while after the defeat that I gave him and obviously he’s doing his little thing with his earphones on, and doesn’t want to answer any questions. That’s up to him, but I’m here to promote a fight and talk to the press, the way I always do.
“So, if Deontay Wilder doesn’t want to commit to this press conference, let me take Deontay Wilder’s part. So, I’ll play double character, if you want. Yeah, I’m quite good at doing this role-playing stuff. So, I’ll be Deontay Wilder and I’ll be Tyson Fury, and we’ll play a little game.”
When Poncher asked Wilder why he decided to elevate Scott to head trainer (over longtime trainer Jay Deas, who Wilder’s camp says is still part of the team), he didn’t answer and Scott spoke instead.
“Deontay and I have always had a chemistry and a brotherhood between us,” Scott said. “Before we talked about moving forward with me as his trainer, I wanted to make sure we had the same chemistry as trainer and fighter that we had with our brotherhood. Our chemistry as fighter and trainer by far passes it. I’m impressed with how he’s adapted.
“I believe that with a fighter like Deontay, who has naturally raw power, combined with my technically sound background, we just match well together. Deontay has made the mental adjustments. All I needed was a receptive athlete. He’s already made the adjustments to do whatever I need him to do in that ring. I only see this fight going one way. I have no doubt that Deontay will become the two-time heavyweight champion of the world and it will come by knockout.”
Fury brushed that off and didn’t need trainer Sugarhill Steward to speak for him.
“I hope Deontay brings something different for this fight. He needs to, if we’re facing facts,” Fury said. “I hope he brings a challenge. Hopefully, Malik Scott can bring the best out of Deontay Wilder.
“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. I’m looking for a big knockout straight away. He said all this stuff about bloodshed last time and we all know what happened last time.”
Tribute to the Kings
I joined my friends at FITE to preview the “Tribute to the Kings” pay-per-view card on Saturday night that stars the Chavez family and includes Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. taking on MMA legend Anderson Silva in a boxing match and an exhibition between Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. and Hector Camacho Jr., the son of the Chavez Sr.’s late rival and fellow Hall of Famer Hector Camacho Sr. You can watch the show right here:
Lopez-Kambosos postponed
Unified lightweight world champion Teofimo Lopez has tested positive for Covid-19 and his mandatory defense against George Kambosos Jr. was postponed on Tuesday.
Lopez and Kambosos were due to square off on Saturday night in the main event of a Triller Fight Club pay-per-view card at Miami’s loanDepot Park, the home stadium of the MLB’s Miami Marlins. However, Lopez was feeling ill and was tested for Covid-19 and it came back positive for the coronavirus. The card was postponed until Aug. 14. I wrote a story on the situation for The Ring magazine website. Please read that piece here: https://www.ringtv.com/623080-teofimo-lopez-tests-positive-for-covid-19-george-kambosos-bout-rescheduled-for-august-14/
Holyfield-McBride to rescue?
Former four-time heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield and fellow Mike Tyson-conqueror Kevin McBride, who are already under contract to meet in an exhibition bout on a Triller Fight Club pay-per-view card later this summer, have notified Triller that they are willing to fill in on short notice and take the place of the postponed Teofimo Lopez-George Kambosos main event on Saturday night, Holyfield adviser Kris Lawrence said. I wrote about the proposal for World Boxing News. Please read that story here: https://www.worldboxingnews.net/2021/06/15/exclusive-evander-holyfield-triller/amp
Leo returns from 1st loss
Former junior featherweight world titlist Angelo Leo, who lost his belt to Stephen Fulton in January, said it was a bitter pill to swallow but now he is set to return to action and begin a quest for another title. He meets former world title challenger Aaron Alameda in the opening bout of a Showtime tripleheader topped by Jermall Charlo’s WBC middleweight title defense against Juan Macias Montiel on Saturday night at the Toyota Center in Charlo’s hometown of Houston.
I spoke with Leo on Monday about how he dealt with the loss to Fulton, how his bout with Covid-19 may have impacted his performance, what he’s changed since the loss and what his goals are after Saturday. Please read that story on The Ring website here:
Quick hits
Salita Promotions on Tuesday won an IBF purse bid for the super middleweight title elimination bout between Russian countrymen Evgeny Shvedenko (15-0, 6 KOs), 30, and Detroit-based Vladimir Shishkin (12-0, 7 KOs), 29. Salita Promotions, which promotes Shishkin, bid $355,000 to beat the only other offer of $277,308 made by Shvedenko promoter Facher Sport. Shishkin is entitled to 60 percent of the winning offer ($213,000) and Shvedenko gets 40 percent ($142,000). The fight must take place within 90 days. The winner becomes the mandatory for the belt currently held by Caleb Plant.
beIN Sports announced it will air two hours of live preliminary bouts from the Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.-Anderson Silva card from Jalisco Stadium in Guadalajara, Mexico on Saturday beginning at 7 p.m. with the main card on Integrated Sports PPV and FITE beginning at 9 p.m. ET. The key bout on the beIN Sports portion of the card will be an eight-round junior lightweight bout between Guadalajara’s Jose Acosta (15-2-1, 10 KOs), 22, and Leonardo Padilla (19-3, 14 KOs), 25, of Venezuela.
Promoters Cameron Dunkin of D&D Boxing and Chris Middendorf of Victory Boxing Promotions, once partners before a falling out, announced they have reached a settlement of their litigation as it pertains to the promotional rights of rising welterweight contender Jaron “Boots” Ennis (27-0, 25 KOs), 23, of Philadelphia. They had been in litigation since March 2019. They said they have resolved their dispute amicably and have signed a settlement deal under which Dunkin’s company will be Ennis’ exclusive promoter. Ennis is coming off his biggest win, a one-sided sixth-round knockout of former junior welterweight titlist Sergey Lipinets on April 10 on Showtime.
Show and tell
Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. and Hector Camacho Jr. are meeting in a six-round exhibition bout on the “Tribute to the Kings” pay-per-view card that also includes Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. in an eight-round official boxing match with MMA legend Anderson Silva on Saturday (Integrated Sports PPV and FITE, 9 p.m. ET, $39.99). The exhibition bout might not be a serious or official fight but the storyline around it is simple: Camacho Jr. supposedly wants to avenge a loss his father, the late Hector Camacho Sr., took against Chavez Sr. 29 years ago. Chavez Sr. and Camacho Sr., both Hall of Famers, met in a mega Showtime PPV fight on Sept. 12, 1992 at the sold-out Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. “Ultimate Glory” remains one of the biggest fights ever in the long history of the Mexico-Puerto Rico boxing rivalry and took place on Mexican Independence Day weekend. Chavez rolled to a lopsided unanimous decision — 120-107, 119-110 and 117-111 — to retain the WBC junior welterweight title for the ninth time. Here’s the program from that fight in my collection.
Fury-Wilder photo: Mikey Williams/Top Rank
Fury should win but will need quite a few punches to land to win so you cant discount Wilder totally as he only needs to land just the one good punch so should still be an exciting fight, with his power Wilder always has a chance but 99% of the time the better boxer wins and in this match up we're talking a far better boxer in Fury than the wild swinging for the fences Wilder.
That Chavez Camacho poster is pure fuego!!! Damn. You brought back my childhood with that.
On another note, that stare down was weird. Tyson Fury is obviously not feeling this. Deontay with the headphones and glasses, doesn't seem there mentally 100% either.