2020 is hotting up in the Heavyweight division. The rematch between Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury has finally been confirmed for February 22 in Las Vegas, although the venue isn’t set in stone.
After the controversial split-decision draw last time the two clashed gloves, betting on Tyson Fury has never looked so promising with the Gypsy King firm favourite at odds of 8/13 (at the time of writing). But in the lead-up to the contest, what are the main talking points?
Fury Calls out Wilder on Insta
In a bizarre string of events, the Gypsy King enlisted the help of popular Star Wars character Chewbacca to call out his opponent on social media.
In the video uploaded to Instagram, captioned ‘@bronzebomber we coming for your sucker #BIGDOSSER’, he and his companion are seen pointing mock-threateningly at the camera.
He says: “Deontay Wilder! Me and my pal here, we’re coming for you sucker. You better be ready.” Meanwhile, promoter Frank Warren was one of the first to comment on the video – ‘Can’t say he hasn’t been warned.’
That’s fighting talk if ever we saw it!
AJ Offers Sparring Session
Fellow heavyweight Anthony Joshua, who recently regained his IBF, WBA and WBO belts from Mexican-American Andy Ruiz Jr. offered a sparring session with Fury ahead of his bout against Wilder.
The Gypsy King previously wished “congratulations” to AJ after his win on December 7 and Joshua responded shortly after. “I think Fury would fight me quicker than Wilder would,” said Joshua. “So if that’s the case I want him to win. Imagine that fight on British soil. If Tyson needs me, I’ll go out and spar with him to get him ready for Wilder.”
Fury responded with, “I would love to have you in camp, work out for this fight and give Deontay Wilder a proper beating.” “I hope you mean it, as I’d love to have you in training camp with me. When I do beat Wilder, I will fight you AJ no problem.”
Interestingly, the two have met before, with AJ sparring Fury as a 20-year-old amateur in 2010, when the Gypsy King was just 22 years old.
In an interview, Fury admitted that Joshua “gave me a beating” for three rounds, before predicting that the Watford-born man would have a bright future in boxing.
“The kid’s only 20, and I’m a handful myself,” said Fury. “So for him to put up a good performance like that against a top prospect in me, I think he’s one for the future.”
Fury Changes Trainer
In another twist, Fury has made the headlines again – but this time for parting ways with his coach Ben Davison and linking up with Javan “Sugar” Hill.
Fury credits Davison as a key figure in overcoming his battles with mental health and depression and the coach famously helped Fury’s comeback, in which he lost over eight stone ahead of his return to the ring in June 2018. Davison confirmed the speculation on social media, tweeting: ‘Obviously it’s not going stop until there’s an answer.
Tyson and myself had to both make decisions for our careers, which resulted in our working relationship coming to an end. However, we remain friends and he will smash the dosser.’
With under two months before the rematch and with Christmas in between, Fury is believed to fly out to the States in the New Year to begin his training regime at the famous Kronk Gym in Detroit.
