Fury: "To be honest I was quite disappointed in the challenge that Wilder brought"
Monday 6 April 2020 17:06, UK
Tyson Fury says he was "disappointed" by Deontay Wilder in their February rematch and believes it was one of his "easiest fights".
Fury stopped Wilder in the seventh round at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas to win the WBC heavyweight belt, flooring the former world champion twice before forcing his corner to throw the towel in.
Asked for his reflections having watched the fight back, Fury told talkSPORT: "To be honest I was quite disappointed in the challenge that Wilder brought.
"Because I did train for 12 rounds at any pace and put myself through hell and back for 10 weeks in the training camp.
"I prepared for the best fighter on the planet, I prepared for the most vicious puncher on the Earth that there's ever been and I was quite disappointed because it wasn't the challenge that I expected."
The previously undefeated Wilder entered the ring wearing a 40-pound outfit designed to celebrate Black History Month, and after the fight the American made the excuse the weight of the costume affected his legs.
Fury added: "Although it was a fantastic victory for myself and it was a great fight, it just did seem that Wilder maybe wasn't himself.
"Maybe all the excuses he made, some of them were true. Maybe his legs were sore from the costume, maybe he did have the flu, maybe he did have a broken arm or a bone in his back or whatever.
"I'm not sure, because that wasn't the Deontay Wilder that I prepared for. That wasn't the animal I put myself through all those hours in training for.
"Like I said, it would be one of my easiest fights, and it was. I believe that was one of my easiest fights apart from the early knockovers that I had and at this level you don't usually get that sort of easy victory, with heavyweight champions of the world.
"The guy's been heavyweight champion of the world and made 10 title defences, knocked out every single person and to go in there with me, who's usually a boxer, counter-puncher, master-skilled boxer, and get absolutely destroyed in a few rounds.
"I trained for an absolute battle royale and I didn't get that, so hopefully there's a couple of fighters out there that, when I do go into training camp and I do serious training, that they will be worthy of the challenge."
Fury has vowed to emerge as a "different person" from the coronavirus crisis and admitted the ongoing pandemic has put his future in boxing into perspective.
Fury, who has fought a well-documented battle with mental health issues, says talk of a third meeting with Wilder must be put on hold as priority is given to coming through the current lockdown.
"You can take positives out of every negative, and the positive I can take out of this one is that I get to spend a lot more time with my family," Fury said.
"People are really realising now what's important in life. Sometimes we get lost in the ride of life, thinking about our ambitions and everything - and we forget about the really important things - families, friends, loved-ones, health.
"It has awoken me because I was one of those people who fell victim to that, always chasing stuff and always wanting to do big things, I was never happy sitting at home and I wanted to go out and be active.
"In the couple of weeks I've been locked down I've had time to focus on the things that really matter in my life. I think I'll come back a different person and I think I'll have a different mindset."
