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VIDEO: When David Haye Sparred Deontay Wilder to Prepare for ‘Deluded’ Tyson Fury

Published 02/05/2021, 12:43 PM EST

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A heavyweight showdown between former titleholders, Deontay Wilder and David Haye, would have allured a lot of boxing fans. Although it never got staged on air, the pugilists traded punches in a sparring session. In 2013, Haye was preparing for his scheduled fight against Tyson Fury. Meanwhile, Fury’s future opponent Deontay Wilder stepped up to help David Haye for the bout.

‘The Bronze Bomber’ visited England for the first time and sparred with several British boxers. Wilder was still to become a heavyweight sensation back then. But he appeared treacherous in those sparring sessions, and Haye got a taste of it.

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Richard Towers, a young Brit, was also present in the gym and saw Wilder and Haye lock horns. He connected with Sky Sports to shed facts from the incident.

Speaking about Wilder, Towers said, “He got in and he punched David Haye around the ring, to the point where I was looking and thinking, ‘Come on, I don’t want this to go on.”

But the tables soon turned, and Towers recalled how ‘Haymaker’ responded with action. He continued, “David Haye did catch him. He caught him with an overhand right and Deontay recovered quickly and well. His legs wobbled, of course they did, David had a horrible right hand on him.”

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Nevertheless, the proposed fight between Haye and Fury never happened. David Haye had to turn down the fight due to injury, and he retired later. But in the buildup, he lashed some serious heat on ‘The Gypsy King’. Haye billed Fury as “deluded” for calling himself the greatest boxer ever. Meanwhile, Fury continued his dominance as he is 30-0 and the WBC champion now.

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Tyson Fury vs Deontay Wilder at a later date

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Five years from that event, Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury locked horns for the world title in an epic championship clash. Both the pugilists entered unbeaten inside the ring and departed with their clean record as the fight was ruled as a draw.

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But Fury took a lead on the score as he knocked the WBC title out of Wilder in the rematch. The trilogy bout is relevant on the charts. However, Wilder hasn’t announced his return and Fury has turned his attention towards unified champion Anthony Joshua. If things fall in place, ‘AJ’ and ‘The Gypsy King’ can stage the biggest Brit heavyweight title fight of all time.

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Written by:

Raj Sarkar

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A senior boxing writer at EssentiallySports, Raj Sarkar is a mass media graduate who is currently pursuing his master’s degree in broadcast journalism. In addition to his current role, he has worked with the MMA team at EssentiallySports and has interviewed prominent fighters such as Ritu Phogat and 'The Red King' Rory MacDonald. He combined his bachelor's degree with his adoration for combat sports and has a combined 2000 plus bylines in MMA and boxing over the last two years.
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