Tyson Fury believes Deontay Wilder’s promoter Lou DiBella was fired because he thought the former had won the first fight.
Fury is set to take on Wilder for his WBC heavyweight championship in a highly-anticipated rematch this Saturday after their first meeting ended in a controversial draw in December 2018. One notable face who hasn’t been involved in the buildup is Lou DiBella — promoter of most of Wilder’s fights — who was fired last year from PBC.
DiBella notably claimed it was because he was trying to get Wilder to sign a very lucrative deal with DAZN.
“My relationship professionally as a promoter for Deontay Wilder and working with his team ended when I set up the DAZN meeting, which is perverse,” DiBella said in an interview with iFL TV (via talkSPORT). “What did I do? I tried to talk to everyone in the marketplace and make a best effort to make the most money for a guy that I cared about. Isn’t that what I’m supposed to do?”
However, Fury believes DiBella was fired because he told him that he thought he had won the first fight with Wilder:
“Me and my team were celebrating. I was running round with my hands up,” Fury told BT Sport. “Wilder’s head was in his corner like he was getting consoled. His trainer was patting him on the back.
“Even his promoter came over to me and you can hear it on one of the interviews and said ‘you won that fight’ before the decision. I think that’s why he’s probably had the sack.”
Many observers believed Fury had done enough to win the first fight with Wilder despite getting knocked down twice. The Briton was outboxing the American for majority of the contest. In the end, the verdict was a split decision draw.
Hopefully, this Saturday has a more definitive conclusion.
What do you think of Fury’s theory?