On the team’s reaction after the fight
“Obviously, deep down, I think we all know that Tyson won the fight. Not taking anything away from Deontay. He showed his fighting heart, his fighting spirit, showed that his power is real. But I think Tyson deserves a hell of a lot of credit for his mannerisms after the fight, the way he dealt with it, because it very easily could have turned into a riot there. But I think he deserves a lot of credit for his professionalism in that situation — disappointing situation, I should say.”
“To be honest, at the end of the fight, very confidently I looked at Paulie Malignaggi, who I respect very highly. I said, ‘What have you got?’ He said, ‘8-4, Tyson.’ I looked at Floyd Mayweather, I said, ‘What have you got?’ And he laughed at me for even asking the question, and he pointed at Tyson and said, ‘Tyson.’ Then before it got announced I was told it was a draw. (Freddie Roach) told me. I just thought, at that point I thought — I didn’t know what to think. I was so disappointed, I was a bit animated at first, to be honesty. Then like I said, Tyson’s professionalism, he wanted everybody to remain calm and not kick off, because he knew what could have happened.”
“At first, it was bitterly disappointing. We took it like a loss at first, to be honest, which you shouldn’t have to do when you’ve gone through what you’ve gone through for that amount of time, to come back to that — you know, people make comebacks and they win world titles, or they come back and eventually win world titles, or get a loss and then this, or they’ll beat somebody for a version of a world title. Tyson’s come back and fought the most dangerous man in world boxing, won the fight, after the journey that he’s been on — I mean, an absolute extreme. From the lowest of the low to beating the most dangerous man in world boxing. To have it stole away from you like that — so obviously at first we took it as a loss. But Tyson was very professional, wanted everybody to remain calm, and it sort of rubbed off on everybody else.”
On Fury’s performance
“It was a simple game plan, which I’m not going to go into because there could be a rematch. But it was a simple game plan and Tyson just strayed away from it ever so slightly at times, which led to giving Deontay a chance to getting back into the fight. And (Wilder) showed that if you give him an inch, he’ll take a mile.”
“I knew that Tyson could very, very comfortably beat Deontay Wilder. But if you take too many chances, he will exploit it. Like I say, you give him an inch, he’ll take a mile. Tyson gave him an inch and he took a mile. He just got a little bit greedy and a little bit complacent.”
On Fury getting up in the 12th round
“I told him before that he was making Deontay miss, but enjoying it a bit too much. He was making him miss three or four shots at a time. And I said, ‘Look, make him miss once or twice and tie him up. Don’t give him that option.’ He was enjoying making him miss and making him look silly. So he knew what to do when he got back to his feet. But as it happened, over here, the commission feel like they should be the ones to take the look at the fighter. I had four or five men trying to hold me down. I wanted to take a look at my fighter. I know him better than anybody else. I end up in a row in the corner. By the time they said all finished, Tyson had come to his feet like something out of a movie.”
“I can’t tell you how many times he’s shocked me and amazed me. He’s definitely an odd character.”
On Wilder’s power
“(Fury) didn’t really say anything about the power. I don’t think he took too many shots to be able to see. But I could see from the outside, the speed and the commitment that Deontay puts into the shots, and the momentum he gets behind them through his reach and his leverage, he’s a bit like a Tommy Hearns. That sort of puncher. I could see it clearly that he’s a dangerous man. He showed his power’s real. But Tyson showed his heart and overcome it. I fully believe and everybody knows that we deserved that win.”
On the judging
“Disgrace. To be honest, that judge, we was weary of it, do you know what I mean? As you would be coming over to foreign soil. So I looked and went back years and years and years on every judge there, and that judge there usually has one judge agreeing with him. But that was a joke and abysmal. Paulie Malignaggi, who I respect, Floyd Mayweather, Gennady Golovkin, Abel Sanchez all had Tyson winning the fight. Steve Farhood of Showtime, BT Sport, all had Tyson winning. Like I said, it’s disappointing. It’s put a massive damper on things.”
“For me, it was a clearer decision than even (Canelo-Golovkin I). I think like everybody else, there was a bit more of a mixed opinion on that fight. I think with this fight, it was very, very clear. It’s just put a damper on the icing on the cake.”