While the three Deontay Wilder-Tyson Fury pressers, two of them open to the public, have been fun, there is one big question mark over whether or not the on-stage hostility, the pushing and the shoving, has been genuine. Do these two unbeaten heavyweights who, we hope, will give us a great fight on December 1st, really dislike one another?
Fans have seen the photo of the two supposed bitter rivals sat next to each other on a couch, sitting amicably and smiling – this after apparently wanting to do each other serious bodily harm. Have we been fooled by the actions of the two men, when the press conferences have really been nothing but an attempt to sell the fight (and judging by reports, with a $million worth of tickets already shifted, it has worked)?
One man who sure thinks so is highly ranked British heavyweight Dillian Whyte. While “The Body Snatcher” continues to wait for his own shot at world glory, Whyte has been watching the Fury and Wilder shenanigans. And Whyte insists he has not been fooled one bit.
“It was pure pantomime with those two clowns prancing around the stage kissing and hugging each other,” Whyte said to Sky Sports when assessing the three press conferences. “All that was missing was the crowd shouting, ‘he’s behind you!’ Even wrestling fans wouldn’t buy that rubbish.”
Indeed, the proceedings did get a little over the top, to say the least. Is there such a thing as trying too hard to sell a fight? Fury is the king of the microphone and he simply cannot help himself whenever there is a crowd, some cameras and the world’s media focused on him. But even he overplayed his hand this time; in the opinion of some, anyway – Whyte included.
The fight may sell-out The Staples Centre in Los Angeles, so job done as far as the two fighters and the promoters and money men are concerned. But, after all the play-acting (if indeed it was playing) and after all the hype, Fury and Wilder have now put a lot of pressure on themselves to deliver an action fight, a fight worthy of all the attention we the fans have given them these past few days. Can they do it?
There will be more than enough fans curious enough to find out to make the whole show one that was worth putting on. Still, you cannot fool everyone every time. If the fight stinks on December 1, both giants may need security as they attempt to leave the arena.
