‘Tyson Fury didn’t just nick it, he destroyed him’: Frank Warren tells Deontay Wilder to re-watch his crushing defeat to the Gypsy King and dismisses his claim that the British heavyweight isn’t ‘a true champion’
- Frank Warren laid into Deontay Wilder after excuses about his loss to Tyson Fury
- The American said he didn’t see Fury as a champion and that he wasn’t himself
- But Warren has urged Wilder to rewatch the fight to see how he was ‘destroyed’
Boxing promoter Frank Warren has slammed Deontay Wilder after the American said he refused to acknowledge Tyson Fury as a champion – and has told him to watch his defeat to the Gypsy King again.
Wilder was outclassed and taken apart by Fury in February after being floored twice en route to a seventh round stoppage, as he surrendered his WBC world title belt following a five-year reign.
Since that crushing loss, Wilder has made a number of excuses – including that his 40lb ring walk outfit was too heavy. Now he has claimed he was ‘like a zombie’ on the night and ‘wasn’t myself’, saying: ‘In my eyes I don’t see Fury as a champion.
Tyson Fury was ruthless in February as he overpowered Deontay Wilder to win the WBC title
Frank Warren has hit back at Wilder, who claimed that he did not see Fury as a real champion
But Warren, who co-promotes Fury alongside Bob Arum’s Top Rank, gave a scathing verdict of Wilder following his latest comments and pointed out how the American boasted that he was in a great condition prior to the fight.
‘Wilder needs to go and put the television on, re-run the fight and see Fury is the champion, end of story,’ Warren told Express Sport.
‘Everyone when they lose, there’s always an excuse. Going into it, he said he was the fittest he’d ever been, it is what it is. That first round was the thirteenth round really, he caught Tyson with two good shots and Tyson took them and out-bullied the bully.’
The American said he was ‘like a zombie’ on fight night – the latest in a string of excuses
But Warren said Wilder should re-watch the fight and see that Fury was in a different class
Warren, who runs Queensbury Promotions, has been in the game for 40 years but believes Fury’s win over Wilder in Las Vegas was the biggest moment of his career so far. He said Fury delivered the complete performance and ‘took him to school’ – leaving no doubt about who was better on the night.
‘I think it’s one of the most significant fights I’ve been involved with as a promoter in my time in boxing,’ Warren added.
‘For a British fighter it ticked all the boxes. He was away from home, two guys in their primes, fighting the guy who has the best knockout ratio. And the biggest puncher in the division.
Fury ‘destroyed’ Wilder and ‘did a job on him in every single department, Warren added
‘He didn’t just go out there and nick it, he went out there and destroyed him. He done him in every single department, he did a job on him. It’s one of the best achievements from a British boxer fighting abroad, he took him to school.’
Fury and Wilder will cross paths for a third time after Wilder activated his rematch clause as he bids to wrest his WBC belt back from Fury. However, the coronavirus has put paid to the proposed date of July and the fight will now likely take place towards the end of the year.
It comes as a huge blow to boxing fans who had hoped to see the winner of the fight take on Anthony Joshua at some point in 2020. That eye-watering clash will almost certainly not happen until at least 2021.