Tyson Fury vs. Deontay Wilder: How to watch trilogy fight between heavyweight stars to settle rivalry

“The Gypsy King” and “The Bronze Bomber” meeting in the ring for the third and (probably) final time.

When Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder face off on Saturday, October 9 in Nevada, US, it’ll be for more than just the WBC and ‘The Ring’ heavyweight titles; it’ll be for pride.

After two blockbuster clashes already and a whole slew of insults exchanged between them, the two boxers aren’t exactly fans of each other.

And with a possible unification bout on the cards against new IBF, WBA and WBO champion Oleksandr Usyk — who defeated Anthony Joshua in September — there is a huge incentive for both men.

Ahead of the fight, Fury predicts that Wilder’s career will be “over” after he’s beaten him for the second time.

“I’m living in Wilder’s mind, rent free, the whole time, two years,” the 33-year-old said with the WBC heavyweight title belt slung over his shoulder.

“Every time he looks in the mirror, he sees Tyson Fury. Every time he goes to bed, before he closes his eyes, he sees ‘the Gypsy King.’ And everything he wakes up and thinks about in the morning, he thinks of Tyson Fury.

“When I beat him this time, his career’s over … He really needs a win but he ain’t getting it, that’s for sure.”

A long road

For Fury and Wilder, the road to this third and most important fight has been a long and winding one.

Even as far back as 2012, the pair were exchanging tweets with Fury saying he was “not impressed” by a recent Wilder fight.

After Wilder defended his WBC title in 2016 against Artur Szpilka at the Barclays Center in New York, Fury entered the ring and called the American a “bum” as they exchanged barbs.

The highly-anticipated fight was eventually set for December 1, 2018, and it didn’t disappoint the fans in Staples Center, Los Angeles.

The boxers fought out a 12-round controversial split decision draw — in which Fury was knocked down twice but managed to regain his footing — a decision the crowd booed, meaning Wilder retained his WBC title and both fighters stayed undefeated.

Although both fighters called out Joshua immediately after the fight, a year later, a rematch between Wilder and Fury was announced for February, 2020 in Las Vegas.

In the rematch, it was a one-sided story, as Fury put in a dominant performance, knocking the American down twice before Wilder’s corner threw in the towel in the third round.

Wilder gave a range of extraordinary excuses for the poor performance — most bizarrely his elaborate ring-walk costume being too heavy.

And immediately in the aftermath of his first career defeat, Wilder invoked the automatic rematch clause stipulated in the contract which allowed the loser to invoke a trilogy fight.

Visit CNN.com/sport for more news, features, and videos

Although the originally date of July 24 was postponed after Fury caught Covid-19, the pair will be stepping into the ring for probably the last time on Saturday, with a potential shot at uniting the heavyweight belts — after Usyk has fought Joshua in a rematch — awaiting.

This time around, Wilder has a more positive outlook heading into the fight.

“This time around, there’s just a different feeling, all the way around,” he said during a press conference. “Just all the surrounding around me, the atmosphere, just the energy as a whole and I’m looking forward to putting on a great performance.”

How to watch:
US: ESPN+ PPV; Fox PPV

UK: BT Sport Box Office

Germany, Switzerland and Austria: DAZN

Russia: 1TV.Ru

Middle East: OSN Play

South Africa: SuperSport

Australia: Kayo Sports

source: cnn.com