Trilogy.
It’s a word with a specific definition, but it’s got a unique meaning in boxing.
Say it among fans of the sweet science, and you will instantly conjure images of Zale and Graziano, Bowe and Holyfield or Ward and Gatti depending on the ages of the audience.
And then there’s the granddaddy of them all: Ali and Frazier.
The Hall of Fame rivals fought three times from 1971 to 1975 and combined for 41 of the most compelling rounds the sport—and particularly the heavyweight division—has ever seen.
Earning admission into the trilogy neighborhood are big men Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder, who will meet for the third time on Saturday in Las Vegas after initially going 12 rounds for a disputed draw in Los Angeles in 2018 and returning for Fury’s win by seventh-round stoppage in Las Vegas in 2020.
“He knows he’s lost twice and that he’s going to lose the third time,” Fury said at Wednesday’s final pre-fight press conference. “He’s in denial, and he’s getting knocked out. His legacy is in bits. I knocked him out, and now I’m going to retire him.”
Up for grabs for the third consecutive time will be the WBC title strap that Wilder had won and defended 10 times before suffering the first loss of his career in the second fight. He’ll arrive to T-Mobile Arena with new trainer Malik Scott, who was promoted amid Wilder’s post-Fury excuse tour that included his bizarre suggestion that previous trainer Mark Breland was secretly working for his foe.
“I went into Deontay’s toolbox and pulled everything out that he did well,” Scott said. “I wanted to make sure that we drilled it over and over again. I didn’t teach him anything new. Deontay Wilder can do it all. I just pulled some of those things out of him.”
The third fight was initially pushed aside in favor of a Fury duel with Anthony Joshua, but Wilder earned a ruling from an arbitrator that mandated he get the third date before Fury and Joshua squared off.
The trilogy fight was then set for June 24 but was postponed when Fury tested positive for COVID-19.
The fight will top a pay-per-view card that’s set to begin at 9 p.m. ET and will be distributed by both Fox Sports and ESPN+.
It will cost $79.99 to see how it turns out, but before you lay out cash, three members of the B/R combat sports team—Scott Harris, Tom Taylor and Lyle Fitzsimmons—got together to predict the result.
Take a look at what we came up with, and drop a line or two with your own picks in the comments.
