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Tyson Fury left some choice words for Deontay Wilder ahead of his fight against Jai Opetaia on the undercard of his showdown with Anthony Joshua.
Fury and Wilder have rarely seen eye to eye since the ‘Gypsy King’ secured an 11th-round knockout victory over the ‘Bronze Bomber’ in their trilogy five years ago.
The American accused the former heavyweight champion of foul play during their encounters, having suffered two defeats against Fury after their first dust-up in December 2018 ended in a draw.
When 80,000 spectators converge on Cardiff’s Principality Stadium on December 11, all eyes will be on the long-awaited showdown between Fury and Joshua.
The pair will finally settle a decade of beef and arguably decide who is the greatest British heavyweight of the generation. On the undercard, meanwhile, Wilder faces an eye-catching bout against unbeaten ‘regular’ cruiserweight champion Opetaia.
It’s the first time Wilder has stepped into the ring since April, when he beat Derek Chisora via split decision, and he is hungry to prove he can re-establish himself among the heavyweight elite, having held the WBC heavyweight title from 2015 to 2020.
Although he is widely regarded as one of the most feared punchers of his generation, the American has declined rapidly in recent years, suffering defeats in two of his previous four fights. In fact, Wilder has not defeated a top contender since stopping Luis Ortiz in 2019 and has lost one-sided bouts to Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang since 2023.
When discussing Wilder’s undercard showdown with Opetaia – who is stepping up to heavyweight for the first time – Fury claimed the ‘Bronze Bomber’ should be “nowhere near a ring”.
