FURY AND WILDER IN AJ TAUNT
Fury admits he would ideally like one more fight before facing Wilder...truth is he hasn’t had a proper scrap in his comeback, just two meaingless walkovers
DEONTAY WILDER taunted Anthony Joshua by claiming he will be jealous when he watches the American’s Las Vegas showdown with Tyson Fury.
And Fury (above with Wilder) reckons Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn “will chuck
TYSON FURY admits he could have done with one more fight before facing Deontay Wilder.
But the former world heavyweight champion did not want to miss the chance of a money-spinning blockbuster in Las Vegas.
Promoter Frank Warren reckons it will be the biggest heavyweight fight since Lennox Lewis versus Mike Tyson in 2002.
Fury, 30, will go into the November clash on the back of just two fights in three years, following his lenghty absence from the ring.
One of those was a fourround farce against Sefer Seferi in June (top, inset), while Saturday’s points win against Francesco Pianeta at Windsor Park offered him rounds, if not an exciting stoppage victory.
“I am ready but, in an ideal world, I could have done with another 10-round or 12-round fight,” Fury said.
“We know the world isn’t ideal – sometimes you have to step up and be a man. I’ll put my best foot forward and rise up to the occasion.”
If you thought the admission was a sign Fury has doubts about facing the unbeaten Bronze Bomber (right), you’d be mistaken.
It is definitely a risk for Fury because, while he was never troubled by Pianeta, he is still shaking off ring rust.
But after facing off with Wilder in the ring and promising to “knock him the f*** out”, he then started singing before the post-fight press conference with ‘American Pie’ the tune of choice.
Yet it was Frank Sinatra, not Don McLean, who he paraphrased to show facing Wilder in the US holds no fear.
“I’ve been to America and conquered it, when I beat Steve Cunningham in New York. And as Frank Sinatra said, if you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere,” he said.
“Las Vegas will be a doddle. It’s all right being a big fish in the small pond of the UK but, if you want to be the Dom Perignon, then you’ve got to go to America like Lennox Lewis did.” Fury is all smiles now after a dark few years that left him contemplating suicide, as he battled mental health problems, while fighting a legal battle with UK Anti-Doping over a failed drug test.
Now he claims that inspiring those who have also had mental health problems motivates him on this journey back to the top of the division, and not just the money.
“I’m not going into this for a pay cheque,” Fury said. “I would not lose for £100million. You can’t pay any amount of money for me to go to Vegas to get sparked out. I’d rather have no money and win than £200billion and lose.”
Fury will earn at least £10m for the clash between the two unbeaten heavyweight motormouths when they meet on November 10 or 17.
Warren, Fury’s promoter, thinks the fight will eclipse Anthony Joshua’s 2017 cracker with Wladimir Klitschko.
He said: “It’s the best heavyweight fight out there in a long time. Klitschko against Joshua was a really good fight to watch, but Klitschko had already been beaten by Fury.
“These two guys are unbeaten – you got the lineal champion and the WBC champion.
“This is on the level of Lewis against Tyson. I think it’s a really big fight.”