In this week’s Fight Talk, we focus on the third bout between Britain’s WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and American challenger Deontay Wilder, as a current and former boxer give their view.

Interest heats up for Fury-Wilder trilogy

It was not long ago that fighters, journalists and fans around the world were gearing up for arguably one of the biggest heavyweight contests in the sport’s history – a blockbuster all-British showdown between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury.

But when the plans fell through, with Fury ordered by the courts to give Wilder a rematch instead, there was a collective feeling of disappointment, anger and frustration.

Many had Fury winning the first encounter with Wilder in 2018, which was declared a draw, before he convincingly beat the American by stoppage in February 2020.

There was little interest from fans for a third Fury-Wilder bout.

However, we all know how the build-up and personalities of the pair can help generate hype the closer we get to fight night.

While the Joshua-Fury saga is very much not forgotten, excitement has started to build for Fury and Wilder’s match-up in Las Vegas on 24 July.

The American, 35, refused to talk at their press conference last week, before THAT face-off which lasted almost six minutes…

Well, Wilder has since broken his silence and offered an explanation.

“I’m strictly business when it comes to this fight. I’m going to let him do the circus, let him promote,” he told ESNews.

“If you’ve kept up with me, you already know how I feel. So less talk, more action from me.”

Fans were quick to point out how they had heard the ‘less talk, more action’ mantra somewhere before; Joshua, after knocking out Kubrat Pulev in December, used the same words when questioned about a potential Fury fight…

In 44 fights, Wilder has 41 stoppages in his 42 wins and is perhaps one of the hardest one-punch knockout artists in heavyweight history.

But despite his record, many can’t see how he’ll overcome the Fury puzzle and reclaim the WBC belt.

“It’s a shame Tyson Fury is going to beat him again and then I won’t get to fight him,” said British contender Dillian Whyte.

Wilder has blamed the only loss of his career on the weight of the costume he wore to the ring, alleged his drink was possibly spiked by his own trainer and also accused Fury of glove tampering.

There was no evidence to back up any of those claims.

“He’ll probably just blame his wife, or his kids, or his dog, or his cat. He should just accept reality,” Whyte added to Sky Sports.

Meanwhile, former world champion Mike Tyson was a little less harsh about his compatriot.

“Deontay Wilder has nothing to be sad about, he’s fought great fights,” Tyson said on his podcast.

“I just think Tyson Fury might have got his number.”

Logan Paul makes bold Tyson claim

By the very nature of the sport, boxers often make outrageous predictions in pursuit of big-money fights.

But this week, YouTuber-turned-fighter Logan Paul – who went eight rounds in an exhibition bout with Floyd Mayweather earlier this month – incensed purists by saying he could beat the 54-year-old Tyson, a man once considered “the baddest man on the planet”.

Speaking on his podcast, Paul said: “My lawyer mentioned it and he was like: ‘No, Tyson will rip your head off, you don’t stand a chance.’

“I’m like: ‘Bro, I literally just went through all of this, you can’t tell me I can’t beat Mike Tyson. Bro, he’s old, old.'”

This is how social media reacted to Paul’s comments…

Should Inoue be top of pound-for-pound rankings?

Forget weight divisions and size, who is the best fighter in boxing today?

It’s a common discussion among hardcore fans, but a tricky question to answer with so many variables.

Do you look at knockout ratio? Or the depth of talent in the division? What about being a multi-weight world champion? And do we look at recent form or does an unblemished record with no losses count for everything?

Nevertheless, there are two who are widely regarded as being the best right now.

Mexico’s unified super-middleweight champion Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez is one of the biggest draws in the sport, who time and time again has taken on the elite-level challengers, most recently beating Briton Billy Joe Saunders last month.

While Alvarez has a greater global profile, there’s a Japanese boxer who may not be a household name, but is at the top of his game.

On Saturday, Naoya Inoue knocked down mandatory challenger Michael Dasmarinas three times within three rounds to retain his IBF and WBA bantamweight titles in Las Vegas.

Inoue is undefeated in 21 fights but, even more impressively, 18 have come via knockout.

That is some feat considering knockouts are generally less common and harder to come by in the lower weight classes.

Inoue’s stunning win fuelled the debate on who is the current pound-for-pound king…