Hearn exclusive: Fury may not have the same hunger in Wilder rematch

Eddie Hearn has questioned whether Tyson Fury will still have the same hunger to succeed against Deontay Wilder but has told us that he is backing the Gypsy King to come out on top.

Fury and Wilder are due to meet in the ring later this year for Fury’s WBC world heavyweight title in what will be the third fight between the duo.

Fury claimed victory in their previous clash and was arguably unlucky to only draw the first bout, but Hearn has suggested the 32-year-old may struggle to motivate himself for the trilogy fight.

“I think Fury has got to be a huge favourite, he’s beaten him twice already really,” Hearn said. “But Wilder is dangerous. And you never know a fighter’s mindset when they go from achieving what Tyson has achieved with a load of money in the bank.

“How much does that hunger [in Fury] still exist? You can bet your life the hunger will be there for Deontay Wilder. But Tyson Fury is a big favourite in that fight. He’s really schooled him twice, and I expect him to do so a third time.”

Meanwhile, Dillian Whyte, who missed out on a chance to face the winner of Fury and Wilder after losing to Alexander Povetkin on Saturday, is expecting the Gypsy King to make light work of the Bronze Bomber.

“I think Fury is going to win again,” Whyte said. “He’s beaten him twice already and I think he’s going to win again. I think it will be easier this time around. Obviously, he out-boxed him last time and he knocked him out this time, so what is Wilder going to bring?

“He can’t say ‘my punch power, my punch power’ anymore, no. He’s been dominated. [Fury] took your punch away from you, put you on the back foot and stopped you.

“And then [Fury’s] also out-boxed him in the first fight when he was rusty, so what’s [Wilder] going to do? He’s not all of a sudden going to become a great mid-range counter-puncher that you haven’t done for 40-something fights.”

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