George Groves dismisses accusations Tyson Fury used tampered gloves against Deontay Wilder

Former world champion laughed off speculation Fury had gained an unfair advantage in the fight

British former world champion George Groves has dismissed accusations that Tyson Fury’s gloves had been tampered with prior to his knockout victory against Deontay Wilder in Las Vegas last month.

In the aftermath of Fury’s seventh-round knockout, it was alleged Fury’s hand had slipped down his glove, enabling him to punch with a less-padded fist.

Fury dropped Wilder in the third and fifth-round before one of the American’s trainers, Mark Breland, threw in the towel as the ‘Gypsy King’ unleashed a barrage of punches in the second half of the fight.

Wilder has since exercised his clause to guarantee a trilogy fight, with the pair now set to meet again in July in Las Vegas.

Asked about the accusations of glove-tampering on the After The Bell podcast, Groves said: ”You can’t dispute that the glove isn’t on properly. They’ve broken it down frame by frame and the glove isn’t on properly.​

Groves dismissed the idea that Fury's gloves played any role in his victory against Wilder (Getty) (Getty Images)

“The guy says it’s being done on purpose and that he’s hitting Wilder with a bare fist but the footage is from the first fight so you can’t say that was the difference in the second fight.

“Fury has that kind of style where he flicks his shots so it is bizarre. For me, it wouldn’t be of benefit because you’re much more likely to do damage to your hands and wrists.

“If you don’t punch properly to start with... he doesn’t actually sit on his shots – he doesn’t throw his right hand like Deontay Wilder – sometimes they are palm-facing and have that slap effect.

“Nine times out of 10 they do that because they have sore hands, Joe Calzaghe being the most famous.

“Most gloves I’ve seen, you can’t do what they’re saying has been done. They’re custom made and there’s no room to make a fist in the wrist area.

“If they’re poor gloves or not made particularly well, maybe they’re loose; they might have started off OK but his hand has slipped down.”