LOS ANGELES (June 15, 2021) – WBC Heavyweight World Champion Tyson “The Gypsy King” Fury and former longtime heavyweight champion Deontay “The Bronze Bomber” Wilder squared off for a long and intense face-to-face stare down Tuesday in Los Angeles at a press conference to preview their highly anticipated third world title showdown taking place Saturday, July 24 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and live on pay-per-view.

Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at www.t-mobilearena.com or www.axs.com. The event is promoted by Top Rank, BombZquad Promotions, TGB Promotions and Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions. A Premier Boxing Champions presentation.

Here is what the fighters and their trainers had to say Tuesday from The Novo by Microsoft at L.A. Live:

TYSON FURY

“It was a crazy roller coaster toward this fight. I always say, ‘you’re never fighting someone, until you’re in the ring opposite them.’ It wasn’t hard for me to adjust to fighting Deontay Wilder again. It’s what I’m paid to do.

“I’m just always training and staying motivated. I’m happy to be living and here right now. I look forward to today. That’s how I manage everything. I’m a ‘living in the moment’ type of person.

“I hope Deontay brings something different for this fight. He needs to, if we’re facing facts. I hope he brings a challenge. Hopefully Malik Scott can bring the best out of Deontay Wilder.

“The beating from the last fight has had a physical, mental and emotional effect on his life. I was worried about him after the way I beat him.

“Deontay Wilder is a one-trick pony. He’s got great one-punch knockout power. I’m going to run him over like I’m an 18-wheeler. I guarantee he doesn’t go past where he did in the second fight. I’m looking for a big knockout straight away.

“He said all this stuff about bloodshed last time and we all know what happened last time. I’m going to keep it short and sweet today.”

DEONTAY WILDER

“Enough has been said. It’s time to cut off his head. Come July the 24, there will be bloodshed. Get your tickets now and I’ll see you soon.

“A lot of things are going to be different in this fight. On July 24, the world is going to see. We’re going to reveal everything we’ve been working on.

“I didn’t feel any way about Fury trying to negotiate another fight. We knew we were in the right and we knew they couldn’t run. Silence is golden.

“I’ve been happy and even happier in my time off. I’ve had time to spend with my family and now I’m rejuvenated and ready to go.

“I’ve been training non-stop during the pandemic and I’ve been building. All this time between fights is going to be good for me and bad for him. I’ve had nothing but time to progress.

“Whatever he does on July 24, we will have an answer for it. I’m training very hard and my mind is very violent. I’m ready to go.”

SUGARHILL STEWARD, Fury’s Trainer

“The amount of time me and Tyson have had together since joining forces hasn’t changed anything. Our chemistry has always been there. The only thing is, is that over that time, he now has the power to knock a man out with one punch.

“I’m glad he’s added that kind of power to go with his boxing skills and IQ. He now has the one-punch knockout power. He just needs to land that one punch.”

MALIK SCOTT, Wilder’s Trainer

“Deontay and I have always had a chemistry and a brotherhood between us. Before we talked about moving forward with me as his trainer, I wanted to make sure we had the same chemistry as trainer and fighter that we had with our brotherhood. Our chemistry as fighter and trainer by far passes it. I’m impressed with how he’s adapted.

“I believe that with a fighter like Deontay, who has naturally raw power, combined with my technically sound background, we just match well together.

“Deontay has made the mental adjustments. All I needed was a receptive athlete. He’s already made the adjustments to do whatever I need him to do in that ring.

“I only see this fight going one way. If you just let Fury do what he wants, he’ll do way more than what you want. I have no doubt that Deontay will become the two-time heavyweight champion of the world and it will come by knockout.”

LAS VEGAS (June 15, 2021) — Two heavyweight kings are set for a third world title showdown as undefeated WBC world champion Tyson “The Gypsy King” Fury puts his title on the line against former longtime heavyweight champion Deontay “The Bronze Bomber” Wilder Saturday, July 24 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The resumption of one of the great heavyweight feuds, Fury vs. Wilder III will be broadcast live on pay-per-view.

Tickets go on sale TODAY, June 15 at 12 p.m. PT and can be purchased at www.t-mobilearena.com or www.axs.com. The event is promoted by Top Rank, BombZquad Promotions, TGB Promotions and Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions. A Premier Boxing Champions presentation.

“I’m excited to once again be fighting in Las Vegas, the home of The Gypsy King,” Fury said. “For the last 18 months, I’ve been living rent free in Wilder’s head. He got smashed to pieces in our last fight, and for some reason, he wants it again. Let’s go. The Big Dosser is getting knocked spark out.”

Wilder said, “Nothing has changed. It’s still one face, one name, one champion – Deontay Wilder. I’m in the best shape of my life. July 24, I’m going to show the people why I’m still the baddest man on the planet.”

Fury (30-0-1, 21 KOs), from Manchester, England, has held the lineal heavyweight crown since dethroning Wladimir Klitschko in November 2015. His comeback from substance abuse and mental health issues inspired millions, and it was the two fights against Wilder that propelled him back to the top of the heavyweight heap. Their December 2018 draw — with Fury rising off the deck in the climactic 12th round — elevated both men to the forefront of the boxing world. Fury knocked out Wilder in the seventh round of their one-sided February 2020 rematch; however, Wilder wanted an immediate third crack at his 6’9, 270-pound adversary.

Wilder (42-1, 41 KOs), a 2008 U.S. Olympic bronze medalist from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, won the heavyweight title in January 2015 and re-energized the heavyweight division, captivating fans with his electrifying power and charisma. Wilder held the WBC heavyweight world title for more than five years, notching 10 consecutive successful defenses, more than all-time greats Mike Tyson, Joe Frazier and Lennox Lewis, while earning a reputation as one of the most devastating punchers in boxing history. Nine of his 10 title defenses ended via knockout, including a pair of come-from-behind victories over Cuban star Luis Ortiz and a one-punch, first-round demolition over 2012 U.S. Olympian Dominic Breazeale. Wilder’s knockout ratio of more than 93 percent still stands as the highest for any heavyweight champion, past or present.

For more information, visit www.premierboxingchampions.com, , Follow on Twitter @PremierBoxing, @trboxing, @TGBPromotions, @TMobileArena and @Swanson_Comm or become a fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/PremierBoxingChampions, www.Facebook.com/trboxing.

By Norm Frauenheim-

The third Tyson Fury-Deontay Wilder fight was supposed to happen this month.

Early in the pandemic, the July 18 date at Las Vegas MGM Grand was viewed as something of a benchmark, a hopeful sign that business – the world – would be back as we’ve known it. Lived it.

But hope, known to spring eternal in better times, is futile these days. First, Fury-Wilder 3 was postponed to Oct. 3. Now, it has moved, pushed to Dec.19 at Vegas’ new Allegiant Stadium amid promoter Bob Arum’s hopes that a live crowd of about 20,000 will be allowed to sit in seats separated by today’s social-distancing dimensions.

“That is the date that we all want,” Arum told Las Vegas’ Review Journal. “That’s the date that both sides are happy with. Whether we’ll be able to do it in the stadium with limited seating, that’s in the hands of the gods.’’

Four months ago, few would have imagined that December would be a possible target date for the resumption of business as usual.

Then again, COVID-19 sounded like science fiction in those days. Who knew that masks would become a fashion statement?

Nobody, despite the mix of fairy tales and fake news from a White House collection of Baghdad Bobs, who keep saying the virus is going to disappear like a miracle. If only that miracle would make them vanish, too.

There are no miracles. But there is some hope, albeit frayed. And there is a potential vaccine, albeit delayed.

A vaccine might be the only realistic hope. The mounting fear of COVID-19 is summed up in the rising number of infections, especially in Arizona, Florida, Texas and California.

Just a couple of months ago, Arizona was thought to be the place where baseball would make its comeback. MLB talked about an abbreviated season in the desert at the spring-training sites in Phoenix. But that was before the virus hit Arizona like a haboob. It’s spreading faster than summer temperatures are rising.

Arizona, baseball’s epicenter in February, is a very different kind of epicenter now.

What has happened in Arizona, my home state, is just another example of what still figures to happen. No telling when the rate of infections will subside. Then, there’s the possibility of a second wave in November, the month before the projected third leg in the Fury-Wilder trilogy.

There are already widespread doubts about whether there will be a college football season this fall.

The NFL, perhaps, has a better shot at some sort of season, yet even it is talking about fans and even players signing some sort of waiver, an acknowledgement that even pro football fears that the pandemic will continue.

From boxing to baseball, money is a motivation for the attempt to get back in the game. Fighters and players still want to get paid. Networks are begging for live content. But the attempted return is as expensive as it is risky.

The NBA is planning to gather in Orlando where it will go into the so-called bubble, which is where boxing has been for nearly a month with weekly Top Rank shows in Las Vegas.

The players, like the fighters, will test, train, eat, sleep and play, all away from fans.  But life in the bubble isn’t cheap. It’s expensive to maintain and sustain. Yet, it’s an investment in keeping fans interested and around for the days when social distancing is a forgotten dimension.

But it’s beginning to look as if only a vaccine can ease public fears and bring the fans back into the arena for a first bell or an opening tip. I’m still hoping to hear that bell for Fury-Wilder 3. But, mostly, I’m hoping for a lab to produce a vaccine.

A vaccine might be the best investment. Long-term, it’s the only way to bet.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, the 3rd fright between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder will most likely pushed back until to the Fall due to the Coronavirus outbreak around the world.

“Clearly not,” Fury Promoter Bob Arum said of the bout being on July 18. “We don’t even know if the MGM will even be open by then.”

“You could not guarantee the fighters that the event would take place on that date. We couldn’t convince them or ourselves,” Arum said. “Where were they going to train for it? It just made no sense. You just have to take a step back. How are you going to sell tickets? It’s absolutely ridiculous to say the fight is on when the Brits can’t even get there.”

“So everybody has to take a step back. Boxing is not isolated. It’s part of what’s happening in the world,” Arum said. “So possibly the fight will be in early October.”

“Al and his people are in touch with us all the time on this,” Arum said. “We see things the same way. We’ll be very, very cautious moving ahead and pray this will be over at a particular time and we will be able to make smart plans. Nobody has ever experienced anything like this before.”

Former Heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder has exercised his rematch clause with Tyson Fury and promoter Bob Arum said July 18th is the working date for the Trilogy in Las Vegas, according to Dan Rafael of espn.com.

“Now we will sit down and go through all the details for the fight,” Arum said, adding that the task would fall largely to Top Rank president Todd duBoef and Bruce Binkow of Premier Boxing Champions. Before Wilder made it official, Arum said he was open to shifting the third fight to the fall if that is what Wilder and PBC wanted. But on Sunday, he said the fight would indeed be July 18 and that it again would be a joint pay-per-view between ESPN, Top Rank’s broadcaster, and Fox, one of PBC’s broadcasters.

“We realized that date was the favorite of both ESPN and Fox because it comes at a dead time in sports, which is good for the fight,” Arum said. “It’s after the basketball playoffs, baseball is in the middle of the season and there’s no football. It’s the ideal time. The hotel, MGM Grand, also believes it to be an ideal time.”

“I figured he would do it because I have had enough experience with rematches to know that anything can happen and guys can change their strategy and want the opportunity to [avenge] the loss,” Arum said.

Shelly Finkel, Wilder’s co-manager, confirmed the decision to go forward with the third fight. “We did exercise it,” Finkel told ESPN. “We want to fight Fury next and we wanted to make sure we sent the letter and that it was done.”