Comments have been made, words have been exchanged and there is no turning down the heat now. Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder, heavyweight archrivals, will fight for a third time on Saturday in the WBC title fight. 

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While Fury has taunted and tweaked Wilder throughout the buildup to their climactic showdown in Las Vegas, the latter promises to present a ‘rejuvenated and reinvented’ version of himself.

“He’s in denial and he’s getting knocked out,” Fury said. “His legacy is in bits. I knocked him out, and now I’m going to retire him.”

The rivalry goes back to December 2018, when drama-filled 12 rounds followed by a controversial twist with the verdict saw a tie match with the scorecards at 115–111 for Wilder, 114–112 for Fury. The decision had satisfied no one as the two met 15 months later, this time the British boxer ending Wilder’s unbeaten record. 

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Here is a look at both the matches:

December 2018

The first time the two faced each other, a crowd of over 17,000 watched the 12 rounds at Staples and the fight was called a draw, Wilder retaining his WBC belt.

Both of them were unsatisfied:

Speaking to the media post-fight Wilder said,”I think with the two knockdowns, I definitely won the fight. We poured our hearts out tonight. We’re both warriors, but with those two drops, I think I won the fight. I came out slow”.

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 “We’re on away soil. I got knocked down twice, but I still believe I won that fight. I’m being a total professional here, the world knows I won the fight,” Fury had said. 

February 2020

Tyson Fury dominated Deontay Wilder in their title rematch night as the American’s corner threw in the towel in the seventh round.

Fury went on the attack in the rematch and knocked Wilder down twice before a flurry of punches in the seventh prompted his corner to call an end to the highly anticipated rematch. He  dropped Wilder in the third round with a right hand that seemed to take the legs out of the champion. He put him down again in the fifth round, this time with a left hand to the body.

The end came at 1:39 of the seventh round when referee Kenny Bayless stopped the fight after Wilder’s corner threw in the towel as he was getting pummeled in a neutral corner.

It was the first loss for Wilder in 44 fights, and it came in the 11th defense of the title he won in 2015.