Deontay Wilder not buying Tyson Fury’s comeback story

Tyson Fury, left, and WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder face each other saturday, after Tyson Fury beat Francesco Pianeta during their Heavyweight fight, at Windsor Park in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Saturday Aug. 18, 2018. (Niall Carson/PA via AP)

Tyson Fury was atop the heavyweight division when he ended Wladimir Klitschko’s 10-year reign as champion in 2015.

Fury captured three world titles on that memorable November night in Germany, but he didn’t make one title defense.

The British fighter known as the “Gypsy King” lost the belts for inactivity and testing positive for cocaine and other banned substances. Fury later revealed he was battling depression and had suicidal thoughts after the grand victory over Klitschko.

Fury ended his three-year layoff this summer with two tune-up bouts and appears to be healthy and in fighting shape again.

It’s become a triumphant return for Fury in the buildup to his Dec. 1 heavyweight showdown against WBC champion Deontay Wilder in Los Angeles for a Showtime pay-per-view event.

Fury has been vocal and open about the personal demons he overcame. But Wilder is skeptical of Fury’s comeback story.

Wilder (40-0, 39 knockouts) hinted at his media workout this week that maybe Fury (27-0, 19 KOs) was just being lazy and lost his motivation after he reached the top.

“He could be lying for all we know,” Wilder said. “This could be what it is, a buildup, a hype for this fight. We know he’s crazy and he’s a liar as well. He lies about a lot of things.

“I’m in the business of building up this fight, not about what he lied about. I’m going to let y’all figure that out for yourselves.”

Wilder isn’t sure if he’s going to see the best Fury, the one from three years ago.

“I don’t know,” he said. “Only he (Fury) can answer that question. I can’t answer that for him because I didn’t physically go through what he went through.

“We all hear about what he went through, some people can relate. I can relate to certain things, but physically, emotionally, only he knows the magnitude of what it meant to him.”

Wilder is considered one of the top two heavyweights in the division along with three-belt champion Anthony Joshua. Wilder, who’s known for his power, has knocked out every opponent he’s ever faced.

The American titlist was pushed in his previous bout in March against Luis Ortiz, who rocked Wilder in the seventh round. Wilder eventually recorded a 10th-round technical knockout.

Only time will tell if Fury will do better than Ortiz.

For all the belts

Undisputed cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk will defend his four major belts against Tony Bellew on Saturday at the Manchester Arena in England.

Bellew is coming down in weight after two big victories against former heavyweight champion David Haye. There are rumors that Usyk could move up to heavyweight for his next bout to challenge Joshua.

DAZN is scheduled to stream fights of the Usyk-Bellew undercard at 10 a.m.

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Contact Gilbert Manzano at gmanzano@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GManzano24 on Twitter.