LOS ANGELES — If their fight Saturday night is as intense as their faceoff Wednesday afternoon, Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury should put on a pretty good show at Staples Center.
There was plenty of shouting and shoving when the two came face-to-face in a downtown ballroom for the traditional stare-down. The words became heated with Wilder, the defending WBC heavyweight champion, promising he would knock out Fury, the lineal champion, who is trying to reclaim a piece of the heavyweight crown.
At one point, Fury stripped out of his shirt and acted as if he were trying to get at Wilder, though no punches were thrown on stage and peace was eventually restored.
“It’s just the energy,” Wilder said. “There’s been a lot of talk that been going on, but it’s been enough talking. This is the week of the fight. It’s time for the transformation.”
Wilder seemed way more amped during the presser than Fury, who likes to play the jolly Englishman role, searching for what buttons to push in an attempt to get under Wilder’s skin.
“I’m already in his head,” Fury said. “When he goes to bed he thinks about me and when he wakes up he thinks about me.”
Watching the action was Freddie Roach, the longtime trainer based at this city’s Wild Card Gym. He is helping Fury prepare for the fight though Fury’s lead trainer remains Ben Davidson.
“We always intended to train in Los Angeles and I asked for Freddie Roach in the corner because he’s been very hospitable to us,” Fury said. “I thought he’d be good if we got him in the corner and give us tips. He’s very experienced and he’s a very nice guy.”
Fury said hiring Roach wasn’t intended to be any kind of mind game with Wilder. “There’s no mind-tactic things going on,” Fury said. “It’s always good to have experience in the corner. It’s always good to have a wise head and it’s going to be to my advantage.”
Fury spent the first three weeks of his training camp in Big Bear, Calif. before relocating to Roach’s gym.
“Big Bear was altitude training,” Fury said. “It was very good, and I loved every minute of it. But we moved down to sea level to train for the fight.”
