Deontay Wilder has once again raised concerns about the gloves Tyson Fury will wear for their trilogy fight in Las Vegas this weekend.
The Bronze Bomber will be looking to get revenge on his rival after Fury won their last bout back in February 2020.
But ever since then, Wilder has claimed that Fury doctored his gloves ahead of that fight, suggesting that he gave himself an advantage by hiding ‘something the size and the shape of an egg weight’ inside of them.
The accusation re-emerged during Friday’s routine glove inspection, as Wilder’s team took aim at the horsehair used as padding inside Fury’s gloves. Both fighters have been given four pairs of the same gloves to choose from for the fight, with NSAC officials cutting one glove from each set open to prove that legitimate padding is being used.
Wilder told 78SportsTV, per the Daily Mail: "We had a little situation with the gloves.
"I already got word of some funny stuff going on in the back of the gloves.
"What happened was Fury’s glove that he’s chosen, which is the same thing he had last time, had little to no padding. The rest of it was horse hair, we thought horse hair was illegal and out of the question but they said it was [okay], so we said cool.
"They opened up my glove and my glove padding is at least two to three inches thick. His glove looks like they’ve already been used, already folded, bended, like they’ve been thrown in the trash and got back out and say, ‘we’re gonna reuse these’.
"My argument was that this is not enough padding in these gloves. They [NASC officials] were trying to convince me the horse hair in the gloves makes up for everything because the horse hair is actually harder than the foam.
"I was telling them they were wrong because the thing about the horse hair is that over time the horse hair can spread, and if it spreads the horse hair gets thinner, that way you only feel that small padding that’s under the horse hair."
Wilder has now made a decision to wear the his Everlast MX gloves.
"The man [the NASC official] tried to go on and explain the lining [on the glove] means it [the horse hair] can’t go anywhere. Of course it can’t go down but it can go left to right in the pad. I started to explain to him of course it can’t go down but it can go left to right. You can just put your hands together and the horse hair will start to expand [separate], so now you’ll just have a fist [in your glove], a top secret weapon.
"I was trying to educate him [the NASC official] on it. One of the guys was trying to say the gloves bend at a 90 degree angle. I had to take my glasses off and look at him so they knew I was real.
"As I started explaining more and we got into it more they said, ‘if you want to be on the same playing field you can wear the same gloves or get another selection of gloves’. I said, ‘okay, let me get my [Everlast] MX’.
"We got it all situated. We’re back at it, I’m very happy with what’s going on with the gloves. Since they want little to no padding in the gloves, we’re going to have the same thing and may the best man win."
Re-lighting the touchpaper this week, Wilder said: "I will go to my grave believing in what I believe in. I don't have to manipulate my gloves. I don't have to do those things.”
By way of response, Fury told The MMA Hour that he “had horseshoes in there”, saying “you know I’m a gypsy don’t you?”
“You ever watched Peaky Blinders?” he asked. “I loaded the gloves with horseshoes and dynamite. This time I’m going to do exactly the same but I’m going to put a bit more metal in there.
“We’ve boxed 19 rounds and he’s practically won two rounds out of 19,” he continued. “I’m not really too bothered about him, but you’ve got to respect everyone that gets into a ring with a pair of boxing gloves. Every man is trained and they’re coming to win.”
Deontay Wilder has developed something of a reputation for making excuses. In the aftermath of his defeat to Fury he has blamed favouritism, an injured bicep and the intervention of trainer Mark Breland, who threw in the towel in the seventh round, for his defeat.
But Fury clapped back earlier this week, saying: “I ask the question, if I only won because I cheated, what was the point of changing everything and doing all this other work?
"Deep down in his soul, he knows that he lost and he’ll lose again. After this fight he’ll be back working in that fast food chain that he was working at earlier on in his career. It’s retirement for him.”