Two Behemoth Boxers Weighing Quarter-Ton Collectively Will Make Millions In Lucrative Heavyweight Rematch Saturday

By Cassandra Cousineau for LVSportsBiz.com

Even though the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) put the kibosh on the traditional stare down, heavyweight foes Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury weighed in Friday and mega-rematch is on for Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

These heavyweights are colossal humans. Standing six feet, seven inches, Wilder weighed 231 pounds, the heaviest of his career. He was just under 213 pounds in the first fight with Fury.

Meanwhile, the six-foot-, nine-inch Fury stepped on the scales at a whopping 273 pounds, 17 pounds north of their first meeting. After some hydration by both men, it’s conceivable Fury could outweigh Wilder by at least 40 pounds on fight night.

“I’m 273 pounds of British beef,” Fury told the ESPN broadcasters immediately after leaving the stage.

As confirmed by the state athletic commission, the contractually-guaranteed purses are $5 million each for both boxers.

Whether the fight is domestic or internationally, British boxing fans are some of the most enthusiastic on the planet and often travel well to support their countrymen. The rousing chorus of applause evidenced this when Fury entered the arena. As far as decibels go, the British-born lineal champion outshone Alabama native Wilder in terms of fan support in the Grand Garden.

Separated by a noticeably larger security presence than the security level at Wednesday’s press conference, the two boxers spent several minutes shouting to each other after they got off the scales.

Coincidentally, a large pigeon flew across the fighters during their animated press conference Wednesday afternoon. This time, it was The Gypsy King who offered the bird to The Bronze Bomber from across the stage.

“The actions of the two fighters pushing each other, which was not staged, is not indicative of the image of our sport as a major league sport, thus having a face-off is not in the best interest in the health and safety of the fighters, the public and the event,”  NSAC executive director Bob Bennett said.

“If this fight depends on a face-off to sell it, we have not done our job,” added Bob Arum, chairman of Top Rank, which promotes Fury.