Deontay Wilder's trainer on Tyson Fury, tactics and why even he could beat 'one dimensional' Anthony Joshua
Exclusive interview: The WBA, IBF and WBO champion holds no fear for Mark Bretland or the man he's training ahead of what is set to be the toughest test of his career
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Your support makes all the difference.One topic of conversation which has swirled around ever since the hair-brained idea of Deontay Wilder vs Tyson Fury became a surprising reality is whether or not the WBC champion will be facing Britain's best heavyweight at the Staples Center on Saturday.
Fury, for his part, maintains he is 'the man', the lineal champion, having dethroned long-term heavyweight king Wladimir Klitschko back in 2015. Fury's subsequent retirement, underpinned by a lengthy battle against drink, drugs and depression, never mind a backdated two-year ban from UKAD, has muddied those waters.
Anthony Joshua, in that time, has won eight times, claimed three of the four major belts, sent Klitschko into retirement with a thrilling stoppage win over him at Wembley in April 2017, not to mention emerge as perhaps the biggest commercial draw in the sport altogether.
Even so, there is a feeling among certain boxing circles that Fury's awkward, unorthodox style could be kryptonite for a heavyweight in Joshua's mould.
A clash between the two leading lights of UK heavyweight boxing remains unlikely for 2019 even if the 'Gypsy King' is victorious in the City of Angels but the prospect of the biggest fight in British history now seems closer than ever given Fury's return to the sport.
But for Mark Breland, the two-time world welterweight champion and one half of Wilder's training team, there is no comparison between Britain's two leading big men.
“I could beat Joshua,” Breland said, his soft voice only partly masking an apparent contempt for the reigning WBA, IBF and WBO champion. “I don't rate that guy at all. For Wilder, Fury is the hardest fight out there for him, certainly harder than Joshua.
“Joshua is very one dimensional with this – the one-two - but Tyson Fury? Even he doesn't know what he's going to do. If he doesn't know, then how can his opponent know? Tyson is the most awkward guy in the division, he's the hardest to figure out.
“With Joshua, he's the opposite, you know basically what he's going to do. If Deontay fought him, you know that one-two he knocked out Bermane Stiverne with? He's going to hit Joshua with that too. Goodnight.
“I would pick Fury to beat Joshua. He's too awkward for Joshua, who is one dimensional. Joshua wouldn't be able to figure him out.”
For now, however, all of that is totally hypothetical as Breland attempts to prime Wilder for what is arguably the toughest test of his career in Fury.
As is now customary, the 55-year-old left his home in Brooklyn, New York and decamped to Tuscaloosa, Alabama for almost the entirety of the WBC's champion camp.
Usually it takes a few days, even weeks, for Wilder to warm up but Breland says the 6ft 7in 'Bronze Bomber' found his stride on his first day.
Breland added: “He's very calm this time. It's like a different Deontay. I have been shocked. He looks different this camp. Just the way he's moving and the way he's throwing his shots but staying calm.
“My thing is always to relax when you throw. As soon as you tense up, you kill the punch. A smart fighter will know you're getting ready to punch, they will see you cock it. So just shoot it straight in instead.
“Deontay's been doing that much better this time. I've honestly been shocked. He's smoother than ever – and accurate.”
Breland, a world amateur champion and Olympic gold medallist, was brought on board by Wilder's long-term trainer and manager Jay Deas back in 2008 and the duo have steered the former Budweiser delivery driver to the pinnacle of the sport.
But it has not been without its physical hardship for either. Deas required hernia surgery after a session on the bodybelt with Wilder while Breland's shoulder was dislocated.
“One time he threw the right hand and I wasn't set,” Breland remembered. “He hit it – pop – and I was straight away like 'sh**!' I felt it in my right shoulder. When he throws it, he really throws it.
“There's a chiropractor I know and he told me it popped out totally. He popped it back in for me and I said 'damn that feels much better!'
“Sometimes I don't even know some of the moves D's doing. I'm thinking 'don't throw nothing yet because I don't know where you're going!'
“One time he threw a combination and I turned and I felt the clip hit me on the chin. Everybody in the gym winced – they were like 'ooooh!' But I was fine.
“I'm glad my reflexes are still there. They were like 'yo Mark – your beard is still on!'”
Fury, according to Breland, won't be so lucky.
“Oh no,” he adds. “If you're in there with Wilder, you're gonna get hit. Fury better be ready."
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