11:00 PM
Hello and welcome
To our live coverage of the third fight between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder for the WBC heavyweight title.
The main event in Las Vegas is due to get under way at about 4am UK time – but, as ever with these big boxing cards in Sin City, that is subject to change depending on how the undercard bouts play out.
Fingers crossed it doesn’t start much later than that…fans in the UK will either have to consume plenty of caffeinated drinks or set a very early alarm.
Anyway, here’s a quick recap of the how the two previous fights between this pair of heavyweight pugilists played out.
Their first bout in 2018 saw Fury twice sent to the canvas and ended up being scored a split draw. But the ‘Gypsy King’ totally dominated last year’s rematch and boxed rings around Wilder before stopping him in the seventh round as the Alabama fighter suffered his first (and so far only) professional loss.
Ahead of their third bout, the fighters have indulged in a bit of trash talk, with Fury vowing to “butcher” his opponent at Friday’s weigh-in and a “rejuvenated” Wilder aiming for “redemption”.
Both men came in at the heaviest weights of their professional careers, with Fury tipping the scales at 19st 11lb and Wilder exactly 17st…seven pounds heavier than when he suffered the first loss of his 44-fight professional career in February last year. Fury is four pounds heavier from their last meeting.
A fired-up Fury said: “It means total obliteration of a dosser. Total annihilation. I’m going to put him in the Royal Infirmary after this fight, don’t worry about that. I will send him home butchered.”
Wilder said: “Calmness is the key to the storm. I know that when I’m not calm, my mind is cloudy and you make bad decisions. But when you’re calm you can weather the storm, you’re able to make great decisions.
“We have rejuvenated myself, reinvented myself, redemption is upon us and I can’t wait to show the world what I’m all about. I’m reintroducing myself to the world as Deontay Wilder.”
Stick with us for the next few hours and we will have all the build-up you could need, including action from the undercard and then live round-by-round updates of the big fight.