Fury-Wilder III Press Conference Gets Heated After Cheating Allegations, No Face-Off ‘Saved’ The Fight
In a press conference which started out relatively amiable, ended in a heated exchange over cheating allegations.
Although there was no final face-off, Tyson Fury (30-0-1, 21 KOs) and Deontay Wilder (42-1-1, 41 KOs) still brought out the tension as the two exchanged heated words, stemming from Wilder doubling down on accusations of Fury tampering gloves in their previous matchup while Fury called him weak.
“I don’t regret it, I will go to my grave believing in what I believe in,” Wilder said.
“One thing about it, men lie, women lie, but your eyes don’t lie what you see – people can believe what they want, but the eyes don’t lie and it only made me better as a man to see certain facts. It made me hungrier than before.”
Fury refuted.
“He accused me of everything, his team, trainer, the suit [he wore on the way to the ring], injuries, the Athletic State Commission of Nevada, the ref – if he had come out with one excuse it might have been believable,” he said.
“What it tells me is he is a weak person who I am going to knock spark out on Saturday night,” the British boxer added.
FOX host Kate Abdo tried to interject in the two’s banter by the end of the presser to do the traditional face-off, but Fury’s promoter, Bob Arum, jumped up from his seat and said “No! No! No!”
Kate Abdo calls for a face off at end of presser. Arum, age 89, springs from his seat: No! No! No!! There was no face off. #FuryWilder3
— Dan Rafael (@DanRafael1) October 6, 2021
Arum, 89, was reportedly afraid Fury and Wilder would engage in an on-stage fight, potentially jeopardizing Saturday night. He could’ve been avoiding something similar to their first matchup.
Tyson Fury had fire in his eyes 🔥
🕛Our countdown to #FuryWilder3 continues!
*Fury/Wilder III airs on Oct. 9 in the U.S. pic.twitter.com/ewEOPElLz5— FIGHT SPORTS (@FIGHTSPORTS) October 7, 2021
On-stage fights at pressers aren’t uncommon. Recently, Caleb Plant sustained a cut under his eye after Canelo Alvarez hit him with a hard counter during their face-off at their pre-fight press conference.
In the post-presser interview to reporters, Arum showed his frustrations and said Abdo knew there was going to be no face-off.
“They bring this woman in from the UK and she’s slanting all the press conference to Wilder,” Arum said. “She knew that the understanding was no face-off. What does she say? ‘Now were going to do a face-off.’
“F— her and f— them. There was no face-off and we saved the fight,” he added.
Abdo tweeted about Arum’s comments and said it’s “disappointing” to be disrespected by someone she respects.
https://t.co/pbPkFxCvKk pic.twitter.com/6VIU2dGnUl
— Kate Abdo (@kate_abdo) October 7, 2021
Fury-Wilder III’s official weigh-in takes place Friday, October 8 at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT. Watch the weigh-in on FIGHT SPORTS on Facebook.