Breakfast television took a surreal turn on Monday morning as two of the world’s best heavyweight boxers appeared on the Good Morning Britain sofa.
Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder were guests on the ITV programme, hosted by Piers Morgan and Susannah Reid, ahead of their much anticipated bout on December 1.
WBC heavyweight champion Wilder will defend his belt against Fury in Los Angeles, with a possible bout against Anthony Joshua in 2019 awaiting the winner.
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Breakfast television took a surreal turn with Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder on ITV
Fury and Wilder were on Good Morning Britain, hosted by Piers Morgan and Susannah Reid
WBC heavyweight champion Wilder will defend his belt against Fury in Los Angeles
The strange atmosphere was heightened by security separating Fury and Wilder in case there was trouble.
Bodyguards stood behind Morgan and Reid, with the presenters joking that they needed security between them more often.
Fury’s promoter, Frank Warren, who appeared alongside his fighter, said it would be the perfect clash between ultra-attacking Wilder and the defensively-solid Brit.
He said: ‘It’s two perfect styles, there’s three best heavyweights in world, take your pick. But these two are the only ones to have the guts to step up and fight each other. The best fighting the best.
‘The winner of this will be the best heavyweight in the world because you have the undefeated lineal champion against the 40-0 WBC champ.’
Wilder attacked Anthony Joshua after their anticipated fight fell through calling him a ‘coward’
Wilder and Joshua were slated to fight this year but a deal could not be agreed – and the American has made his antipathy towards the British boxer clear ever since.
This was reaffirmed on GMB, as Wilder turned directly to camera – after needing some prompting about which one was rolling – to call Joshua a ‘coward’ for not agreeing to the fight.
Wilder, who appeared on the show wearing a black hoodie and plenty of gold bling, called Joshua and his team ‘compulsive liars’ and accused them of squirming out of the anticipated fight.
The undefeated American was decked out in plenty of gold bling for his appearance
He said: ‘Hey Joshua, me and Fury have got this thing going on to see who is the biggest and baddest in the world, to see who is champion, one face, one name, something you was too coward to do.
‘You was a coward, and you know this, your team knows this. Every last one of you saying things over again, you manipulated it, you conjured it. You are compulsive liars.’
The usually brash Fury, wearing a grey three-piece suit, was unusually reserved for his appearance on ITV – but was typically abrasive when asked why he was so quiet.
He said of Wilder: ‘I’m giving him his little five minutes of fame on British TV. That’s why I’m not interrupting.’
The strange atmosphere was heightened by the presence of extra security in the studio