Deontay Wilder his criticised his former coach and reiterated that he should not have thrown in the towel during his second bout with Tyson Fury ahead of their third fight.
The pair step in the ring for the third time in Las Vegas on Saturday evening with the trilogy bout almost certain to be the last time they fight.
After a no contest draw in which Fury dramatically rose from the brink to pull himself from the canvas and secure a draw, the Gypsy King would dominate Wilder in the second fight before a seventh round knockout.
One of Wilder’s then-coaches, Mark Breland, threw in the towel during that fight and was sacked soon after – with many experts stating that the trainer could have done so several rounds earlier, but commending the decision to eventually do so.
Wilder, however, was heavily critically of the decision at the time – stating that he had wanted to ‘go out on his shield’.
And now, the Bronze Bomber has doubled down, calling Breland a ‘weak individual’.
Speaking to BT Sport, Wilder said: ““Even on my worst night, on [Fury’s] best night, he still couldn’t get me out of there.
“People would try to label it as a knockout but that’s not a knockout.
“No, that’s a stoppage because of a weak individual in my team that did something he wasn’t supposed to do and that’s throw in the towel.
“I ended the fight on my feet. It’s a difference between the knockout and someone ending it on their feet, you know. I’m just looking forward to this time around and I can’t wait again.”
Wilder also gave his prediction ahead of the fight, stating how confident he is of knocking Fury out.
He said: “It’s not going to go the distance at all. I can’t see this fight going the distance.
“Look, at the end of the day we want it way more than him, and I know for a fact he hasn’t trained as hard as I’ve trained. He doesn’t want it as bad as I’ve wanted it and for this reason I cannot see this fight going long distance.
“This is the heavyweight division, and when people come out to see the heavyweight division they come to see knockouts, and they know when they come out to see Deontay Wilder, they are going to get just that.
“I’m going to deliver. I can’t wait.”
Breland will not be in Wilder’s corner this weekend, after firing him following the second Fury fight.
Speaking in February of this year, Breland said that the heavyweight had ‘become untrainable’.
He said: “Deontay had become untrainable because he was at the point of he know more about boxing than all of us.
“So teaching a correct jab was not a priority to learn once he continued on his knockout streak. So a coach can only teach someone if they’re willing to learn.
“We would wait for the champ for hours before he arrived at the gym and Jay would inform us of his mood. If he had a bad day we had to ‘be quiet’ to not be on the receiving end of ‘his wrath’ according to Jay, in an effort not to be ‘fired.’”
Fury’s trilogy bout with Wilder will take place in the early hours of Sunday morning in the UK, with ring walks expected at around 4am.
The fight will have a significant landscape on the world heavyweight scene, with Fury then expected to return to the UK for his next bout.
A likely opponent for Fury if he beats Wilder is fellow Brit Dillian Whyte, who is the WBC’s mandatory challenger.
