Wilder: I’m More Focused Than I’ve Ever Been In My Entire Career; Serious About Everything

Deontay Wilder altered how he has handled virtually everything during the buildup toward his third fight against Tyson Fury on Saturday night.

The former WBC heavyweight champion limited the amount of time he has spent promoting their ESPN/FOX Sports per-per-view event because those countless commitments were “draining” before their rematch in February 2020. Wilder hasn’t made himself nearly as available to the media, either, as he was throughout his five-year reign as champion.

In the gym, the Tuscaloosa, Alabama, native has worked with a new head trainer, Malik Scott, for more than a year. The 35-year-old Wilder believes Scott, who he knocked out in the first round of their fight in March 2014, has brought out dimensions in his game that he previously abandoned.

Altogether, Wilder (42-1-1, 41 KOs) expects those changes to significantly enhance his performance when he faces Fury (30-0-1, 21 KOs) again at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

“Most everything has changed,” Wilder said during a recent Zoom conference call. “I’m super-focused. You know, I’m more focused now than I’ve ever been in my entire career. You know, this is another part, a second phase of my career. Like I said, I had fun in my first album coming out, defending the title, you know, for five years, 10 title defenses. You know, like I said, I gave my time to people, you know, and it was appreciated, but sometimes it wasn’t. And at this point in time, man, we’re serious about everything. I’m super-focused. I’m in a happy place and I’m glad that I’m here. You know, I’m happy. They say things happen for a reason, and sometimes we don’t understand that reason until we get in a situation or a certain place in life, and then we understand.

“And with me and my team aboard, we all understand everything that has happened. And we’re just looking forward to it. We all smile. You know, we all laugh. You know, I always talk about the love I have in my camp, and it is so real. You know, I love to display it. I love to talk about it because, you know, so many people look for this type of love, because it’s so many fake people out there that show fake love. And I know for sure if I see love it’s between the family that I have within my team and my brotherhood that I have with all my guys. You know, and that means a lot to me.”

England’s Fury remains a 3-1 favorite over Alabama’s Wilder, who was dropped twice during their second fight. Neither fighter has boxed in the 19 months since their rematch ended in the seventh round, when Mark Breland, Wilder’s former assistant trainer, threw in the towel to prevent Wilder from taking too much punishment.

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.