Heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and former champ Deontay Wilder traded verbal haymakers at their final press conference ahead of Saturday’s long-awaited trilogy fight.
The bad blood between the towering arch-rivals led organizers to cancel the traditional faceoff ahead of the megabout at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas for the lineal heavyweight championship (9 p.m. ET, ESPN+ PPV).
The undefeated Fury blasted Wilder, taking aim at the challenger’s unfounded claims that Fury doctored his gloves in their February 2020 rematch that “The Gypsy King” won via seventh-round TKO.
“He says he wants to do bad things to me and that he’s got all this anger and malice and aggression,” said Fury. “I don’t want to hurt Deontay Wilder. I just want to beat him in a fight.
“Those who hold hot coals with aggression are the ones who get burned. He knows he’s lost twice and that he’s going to lose the third time.”
ESPN notes that Wilder (42-1, 41 KOs) “continued to assert — without any proof — that Fury loaded his gloves and claimed the gloves bent in unusual ways. The Nevada State Athletic Commission also inspected the gloves and found no issues.”
Wilder fired his former assistant trainer, Mark Breland, for throwing in the towel in Round 7 of their last fight, causing Wilder’s first professional loss. The Alabama-born “Bronze Bomber” continues to claim that Fury somehow altered his gloves in order to beat him.
“I will go to my grave believing in what I believe in,” said Wilder. “I don’t have to manipulate my gloves. I don’t have to do those things. … You have no power, you’re not a knockout artist. I went out on my feet, I had a disloyal trainer.”
“That’s a knockout,” responded Fury, who scored two knockdowns of Wilder in their last fight, during a fierce verbal exchange at the end of the presser. (See ESPN’s video above).
“Wilder is a weak person mentally and I’m going to knock him out on Saturday night. I obliterated him in the rematch and I see much more of the same in the third fight.”
Wilder, long considered the hardest puncher in the heavyweight division, exuded a calm demeanor in the press conference and said he was embracing his newfound underdog status.
“I don’t have anything to prove,” Wilder said. “I have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Your legacy only dies when the desire for the sport dies. I’m well alive right now. My energy is like my mind, it’s very violent.”
On Friday, both fighters weighed in at the heaviest of their careers.
Fury weighed 277 pounds, four more pounds than he weighed in their February 2020 rematch. Wilder weighed 238 pounds after coming in at a then-career-high of 231 pounds in his seventh-round TKO loss to Fury.
When they first fought in December 2018, Fury and Wilder battled to a disputed draw. But ESPN points out that Fury “appeared to win every round besides the ones in which Wilder scored knockdowns (Rounds 9 and 12).”
The winner of Fury/Wilder 3 is expected to eventually face the winner of the rematch between Anthony Joshua and new WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight champion Oleksander Usyk, the former cruiserweight champ who outboxed Joshua in a decisive upset victory last month.
With further assistance from Sporting News, here’s practically everything you need to know about Fury/Wilder 3, the biggest boxing event of 2021:
When is Tyson Fury vs. Deontay Wilder 3?
- Date: Saturday, Oct. 9
- Event start: 7 p.m. ET | 4 p.m. PT
- PPV main card: 9 p.m. ET | 6 p.m. PT
- PPV main event: 11 p.m. ET | 9 p.m. PT (approx.)
How to watch, live stream Fury vs. Wilder 3
- TV channel: ESPN, Fox Sports 1
- Live stream (PPV): ESPN+, Fox Sports app
The pre-show and preliminary bouts are available on ESPN2 and Fox Sports 1. At 8 p.m. ET, the undercard continues on ESPN and FS1.
The Fury vs. Wilder 3 main card is an ESPN+/Fox joint pay-per-view. It can be live-streamed through the Fox Sports app and ESPN+.
Fury vs. Wilder 3 PPV price: How much does the card cost?
- PPV price : $79.99
The Tyson Fury vs. Deontay Wilder 3 fight costs $79.99 on pay-per-view.
The main card is also available for purchase via most major cable and satellite providers.
Where is Fury vs. Wilder 3 taking place?
- Location: T-Mobile Arena
Fury vs. Wilder 3 will take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Wilder returns to the “Fight Capital of the World” for the sixth time. The rematch will be Fury’s fourth consecutive fight in the gambling Mecca.
Fury vs. Wilder 3 Betting Odds
MaximBet has Fury as a significant favor at 285, which means a $285 wager yields a $100 profit if Fury wins.
Wilder is an underdog for the first time in his professional boxing career at -240. A $100 bet would make a $240 profit if Wilder takes the “W.”
Wilder vs. Fury 3 Fight Card
Main card
- Tyson Fury vs. Deontay Wilder for Fury’s WBC and lineal Heavyweight titles
- Efe Ajagba vs. Frank Sanchez; 10 rounds, Heavyweight
- Robert Helenius vs. Adam Kownacki; 12 rounds, Heavyweight
- Jared Anderson vs. Vladimir Tereshkin; 8 rounds, Heavyweight
Undercard
- Edgar Berlanga vs. Marcelo Esteban Coceres, 10 rounds, super middleweight
- Julian Williams vs. Vladimir Hernandez, 10 rounds, junior middleweight
Preliminary
- Robeisy Ramirez vs. Orlando Gonzalez, 10 rounds, featherweight
- Viktor Faust vs. Mike Marshall, 8 rounds, heavyweight
- Bruce Carrington vs. TBA, 4 rounds, featherweight
- Elvis Rodriguez vs. Victor Vazquez, 8 rounds, junior welterweight