Deontay Wilder centered and focused for Tyson Fury bout

Deontay Wilder fielded questions from the media on Sept. 22 ahead of his Oct. 9 bout against Tyson Fury. Wilder sounds calm and focused this time around.

There has been more drama between Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury since their February 2020 boxing bout that can fit in this entire write-up. Accusations of glove tampering, drugging, and heavy outfits were a bad look for Wilder in the fight’s aftermath, but he’s seeming to have the edge heading into the trilogy bout.

Fury (30-0-1, 21 KOs) had all the momentum after stopping Wilder via TKO in 7. He completely squandered it by pushing the fight off for more than a year with fantasies of unifying the title against Anthony Joshua in Saudi Arabia.

Fury lost tons of fan support when he forced the fight to be pushed back after contracting COVID-19. Anyone can get COVD-19, but admissions that he only received one of two vaccine shots irritated fight fans and pundits.

He’s still rubbing people the wrong way after Boxingscene.com reported that Fury has no plans of getting a second shot until after his Oct. 9 contest with Wilder.

After releasing outlandish accusations after his loss to Fury, Wilder did the smart thing and laid low. It turns out that a fire was brewing in him the entire time. He hired Malik Scott as his head trainer to strengthen his boxing skills and has prepared differently and more intently this time around.

Change is a keyword that represents this training camp for Deontay Wilder as he prepares for Tyson Fury

Getting time to talk to Wilder in the lead-up to Fury vs. Wilder 2 wasn’t difficult because Wilder wasn’t granting interviews. The opposite is true. He was constantly talking to the press and appearing on television. He was very giving with his time. Maybe too giving. Wilder didn’t make that mistake for this training camp.

“I didn’t feel distracted. I think the word for it is ‘draining,'” Wilder told FanSided during a recent media call. “When you’re dealing with media and promoting a fight and different things like that, it’s very draining to a fighter.”

Some people might see this as another excuse, but Wilder has seldomly given interviews leading up to Oct. 9 for a reason. Yes, added focus is part of his rationale, but being stretched too thin is another.

In January 2020, I interviewed Wilder on the phone while he posed for a simultaneous photoshoot for the article I was writing. I had about 12 minutes of Wilder’s time since he had some video interviews to shoot next. It was like that for Wilder throughout camp.

Wilder (42-1-1, 41 KOs) learned from that experience and has done things differently. He demonstrated a calm, thoughtful demeanor throughout his latest media call and was busting with quiet confidence.

The added time has greatly aided Wilder.

“I feel amazing. It’s past good or great,” said Wilder. “This time that has passed has been great for me. With the more time that’s passed, the more that we’ve been able to work on different little things and perfect them. You can’t always be perfect, but that doesn’t mean you can’t train to be perfect.

“I’m super focused. I’m more focused now than I’ve even been in my entire career. This is the second phase of my career. I had fun winning and defending the title for five years. At this point, we’re just serious about everything. I’m in a happy place, and I’m glad that I’m here.”

Can Wilder reverse his fortunes this time? That remains to be seen, but he’s done everything in his power to put himself into a winning position. It’s unclear if the same can be said for Fury.