FAKE BRUISE!
Rivals ditch put-downs for praise
WHEN two men as gigantic as Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder pretend they are going to do unspeakable harm to each other, it’s more suitcases than handbags.
But it’s still Fake Bruise. America’s holder of the WBC world heavyweight title pushed Britain’s lineal champion, who shouted: ‘My wife shoves harder than you, b***h.’ That was by no means the worst of the vernacular in earshot at the London launch of the mega-fight coming up in America on December 1.
Once the BT cameras switched off — which came sooner than planned as the live airwaves turned four-letter blue — even the two protagonists dismissed their spat as box-office nonsense and then talked sweetly of their mutual affection.
Wilder added: ‘Tyson knows he can’t get inside my head. It was just two bonding members of the same community communicating our love.
‘I come from a deeply religious family. My father was a pastor and I had a sheltered upbringing. I chose boxing because I needed the money to give a good life to my daughter Naieya, who was born with spina bifida. When she was one year old, I made her look at me as I told her I would take care of her by becoming world heavyweight champion.
‘That is why I morph into the baddest man on the planet, the Bronze Bomber, a completely different being, a contradiction in the ring who knocks every man out.’
Fury concurred: ‘None of this stuff counts for anything once we get in the ring. Yep, it was just a way of expressing our love of each other.
‘I respect Deontay as a father, a husband, a boxer, a very dangerous puncher and a man. But I would not be fighting him if I didn’t know I could beat him.’
From foul-mouthed threats and menaces to a love-in within the space of 20 minutes.
These two undefeated fighters did, however, discuss why each expects to beat the other.
Wilder said: ‘Our two camps have been friendly for years and I’ve followed how Tyson has broken away from having his uncle Peter as his trainer. It is not for me to talk about the reasons but I do know he will not be as good in the ring because of this.
‘What we will be doing in December is way different from his two warm-up fights in his comeback. This is elite boxing.’
Fury said: ‘Deontay has knocked everyone out but he has never faced a boxer as hard to hit as me. He has never gained the experience of being in a big title fight against a proper champion. He doesn’t know what’s coming.’
Wilder v Fury will be televised live late Saturday night December 1 on BT Sport Box Office.