Tyson Fury says Deontay Wilder was one of the easiest fights of his career

With a little more than a week before his championship bout with Deontay Wilder, Tyson Fury stated that Wilder wasn’t his toughest opponent.

In 2018, Tyson Fury fought WBC heavyweight champion, Deontay Wilder, to a draw. He was knocked down twice in the process, but the final knockdown in round 12 was vicious. Despite getting dropped twice, Fury insists that his bout with Wilder wasn’t all that challenging.

Ahead of their Saturday, Feb. 22 rematch, Fury addressed the media via conference call nine days before the big fight. He had a lot to say about Wilder.

FanSided asked Fury if Wilder was one of his toughest bouts, and where that bout would rank on his list of most trying contests. He proclaimed that his meeting with Wilder wasn’t that difficult.

“I said it was one of my easiest fights to be fair,” said Fury. “Other than the two knockdowns, it was a pretty one-sided fight. I’ve boxed more difficult fights than that before, much more harder than that. Deontay Wilder’s not my toughest opponent. Tha’s for sure.”

Fury elaborated on what he viewed as the most taxing fight throughout his career.

“My toughest opponent in my full career was Steven Cunningham,” recalled Fury. “He was a former cruiserweight champion that fought me in about 2013 in New York at Madison Square Garden. That was the toughest fight I ever had.”

Fury vs. Cunningham was a hugely entertaining matchup. Cunningham dropped Fury in round 2, but Fury rallied and knocked out Cunningham in round 7. That was almost seven years ago, but Fury still respects Cunnigham’s performance.

Fury’s comments could be seen as a dig at Wilder, but he offered a lukewarm endorsement of Wilder’s boxing intelligence.

“I thought his boxing IQ was okay,” said Fury of Wilder. “It wasn’t up there with the likes of Wladimir Klitschko, but he was decent.”

Wilder vs. Fury 2 is receiving a lot of attention. FOX provided multiple ads for the fight during the Super Bowl. PBC on FOX and Top Rank on ESPN are blending their talents to produce the rematch. Don’t miss this intriguing pay-per-view bout on Saturday, Feb. 22 at 9 p.m. ET.