Boxing: Deontay Wilder Taunts Tyson Fury, Calls Him “Con Artist”

Deontay Wilder is already setting up the jabs with still over a month before his scheduled rematch against Tyson Fury. The defending WBC heavyweight champion taunted the challenging Fury and called him a “con artist” who has headlined several boring bouts and picks second fiddle fighters in his cards.

“I consider Fury a con man, he’s a con artist. What has he really done? He’s boring every time,” said Wilder as reported by Michael Benson. “He fights lower opposition. He beat [Wladimir] Klitschko, but was never able to defend the belts. And he was playing with his nose. Nobody talks about it, he’s a con artist,” the American champ added.

The rematch between the heavyweight stars is set on Feb. 22 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. The first meeting held in December 2018 ended in a controversial split draw which allowed Wilder to retain his belt.

In a presser held last Monday, the two figured in a word war anew to spice things before Round 13 of the affair begins. Fury set a warning that Wilder will hit the canvass in just two rounds. “You’re going to sleep in two rounds,” Fury cautioned the 34-year-old champion. Wilder then returned fire by mentioning Fury’s previous struggles with substance abuse.

While both are still undefeated, analysts believe that the English Fury (29-0-1, 20 KOs) has more to lose than Wilder (42-0-1, 41 KOs).

The early odds are siding with the destructive power of Wilder’s punch with most spectators putting the pressure on Fury to give a competitive fight if the protagonists want a trilogy if to be set up.

“The fight is important because it needs to be competitive to increase the chances of a trilogy match taking place later this year. If it’s a boring fight or total destruction with Wilder destroying Fury, then a third fight might not happen between them,” Scott Gilfoid of Boxing News 24 said. “It would be bad for Fury’s career to fight Wilder a third time if he gets smashed to bits on February 22, because his career could be heading into oblivion.”