It’s of his own doing, too. This gnawing obsession with Tyson Fury, his rival in one of boxing history’s most memorable heavyweight trilogies. Wilder and Fury will always be linked together for what they gave us through 30 punishing rounds for the greatest prize in sports.

Wilder is making certain that partnership is painted in bad blood. He continues to accuse Fury of cheating in the February 2020 rematch though he offers no proof. The latest claim was made on The Ring’s Mr. Verzace Podcast as Wilder sat across from his April 4 foe, Derek Chisora.

Chisora also faced Fury in a trilogy, though not a memorable one as he lost all three fights in lopsided fashion. When he told Wilder that Fury beat them both up multiple times, Wilder was off to the races with his patented alibis to help explain how he possibly could have lost.

The excuses first started shortly after the fight happened, one in which Fury battered Wilder for seven rounds before cornerman Mark Breland mercifully stopped it. First, it was the costume: Wilder claimed the elaborate walkout outfit weighed nearly 50 pounds and sapped his legs of energy. Hard to believe, but no real victim in that claim.

Then it turned more nefariously to accusations Fury took padding out of his gloves and loaded them with foreign objects. An egg weight, Wilder said, Fury must have hid in his glove. Social-media conspiracy theorists tossed on their tinfoil hats and made videos that swore the “floppiness” of Fury’s gloves was proof.

“I can’t think about the third [fight] but the two of them he definitely cheated, I got proof and evidence of that. The man cheated. He’s the biggest cheater in boxing history. If I’m lying then please tell him to sue me for defamation of character.”

It’s something Fury should seriously consider, because Wilder shows no signs of stopping this embarrassing behavior six years later. Look, boxers aren’t like the rest of us. And it must have been so difficult for Wilder to realize he indeed wasn’t the baddest man on the planet after an out-of-shape Fury, fresh off a 2 ½ year retirement, absorbed his best shot in the final round of their first encounter to beat the count.

Fury didn’t just rise off the canvas from Wilder’s vaunted right hand (and a follow-up left hook on the way down). He finished the fight by battering Wilder around the ring on that December night in Los Angeles more than seven years ago.

Wilder contended that the referee helped Fury with a long count. Again, at least it isn’t accusing a fellow fighter of cheating without a shred of evidence, proof Wilder promises he possesses yet curiously never reveals. It’s all going to be presented in some documentary, Wilder claims. We’ll be waiting with bated breath.

Meanwhile, Wilder had more media rounds to promote the April 4 fight with Chisora in London, a bout that will be the 50th of each heavyweight’s career. When they hit the set of Simon Jordan’s talkSPORT show in the UK, the host pressed Wilder about his accusations. Wilder wasn’t in the mood to talk about it and refused.

But that’s now how this really works, is it? Surely Jordan wouldn’t have broached the subject if Wilder wasn’t ranting and raving about the supposed hijinks from Fury only one day earlier.

It was fair for Jordan as a member of the media to press Wilder about such claims. Instead, he lost his cool and stormed off the set after security intervened.

This is sadly where Wilder finds himself at 40 as his career winds down. His last notable win was scored more than six years ago when he rendered Luis Ortiz senseless a second time in a heavyweight title fight.

The following bout, he met Fury a second time and everything changed. It’s understandable that Wilder has a difficult time accepting the defeat. When you’re a boxer, and not just any fighter but the heavyweight champion, you have to believe no one is better.

Blaming Breland, his own water supply, even the referee? All dubious, but at least not accusing someone of criminal behavior. What Wilder continues to do says a lot more about him than it does about Fury.

Wilder should be celebrating all he’s accomplished as his career comes to a close. He has a lot to be proud of. He overachieved after taking up boxing at an advanced age, earned tens of millions of dollars and competed in some major fights.

But now? This is just sad. Wilder has turned into a caricature of himself. He’s coming off a lackluster stoppage win over a then-24-5 journeyman ranked No. 366 by BoxRec at heavyweight. Before that he was brutally stopped by Zhilei Zhang and outpointed decisively by Joseph Parker.

Against Chisora, Wilder is a slight underdog. It’s expected to be the final fight for Chisora, and it really should be for Wilder also. Nothing wrong with a farewell fight for both notable heavyweights.

Fury, meanwhile, finds himself in a far more favorable position. Following a pair of losses to heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk in 2024, Fury took off last year while claiming he was retired once again. Now, he prepares for his own April return, a Netflix fight in London against Arslanbek Makhmudov. That’s meant to set up a long-awaited showdown with Anthony Joshua later this year.

“You don’t hear me crying and moaning about it, saying someone cheated,” Fury said last week on Instagram, responding to Wilder with a reference to his own setbacks vs. Usyk. “That’s not me. There’s no point crying over spilt milk.”

And after Wilder and Chisora settle their business in April? The world waits for this Wilder documentary apparently six years in the making. That should surely settle everything.

Parting shot: What a way for Brandon Figueroa to become a two-time featherweight titleholder. The Mexican-American was practically counted out after his lackluster performance vs. Stephen Fulton one year ago. It was even more concerning, considering how good Figueroa looked vs. Fulton in their first meeting in 2021. The second time around, Figueroa was beaten to the punch and looked lethargic. The performance raised questions about how much he had left at 28 given his fighting style and all the punishing bouts he’s been in. He rebounded with a competitive win over gatekeeper Joet Gonzalez over the summer. And then entered another title shot Saturday on the road in Liverpool as about a 4-1 underdog.

I had Figueroa up 106-103 (same as two judges) when he scored the emphatic stoppage of Nick Ball in the final round. The left hand that face-planted Ball into the canvas would be a strong front runner for KO of the Year if Ball didn’t beat the count. Somehow he did until he was stopped moments later. A rematch makes sense at some point.

But two better matchups stand out for Figueroa, who just turned 29, in the meantime: Rafael Espinoza and Bruce "Shu Shu" Carrington. A unification with Espinoza is intriguing given their immense size for the 126-pound weight class alone (Figueroa is 5-foot-9 while Espinoza is 6-1). But they are both trained by Manny Robles, which could complicate matters. Carrington, of course, is a rising star after his highlight-reel KO of Carlos Castro to win a title last month.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3az5J8cF7U