By Geno McGahee
Tyson Fury, 27-0, 19 KO’s, is heading into the biggest fight of his career on December 1st on Showtime PPV against the most feared heavyweight champion since Mike Tyson, Deontay Wilder, 40-0, 39 KO’s, but Fury doesn’t know fear. What has made him an elite fighter is the fact that he considers himself as an elite fighter and he is going into his WBC title opportunity with a full head of steam.
Wilder has been chasing the other heavyweight king, Anthony Joshua, for quite some time and has come to the realization that AJ does not want to tangle with him. It is the classic Riddick Bowe-Lennox Lewis dodge. Wilder had to go elsewhere. So, he found the man that beat that man, Fury, who left boxing after some personal problems while holding the WBA, WBO, IBO and IBF titles, which he lifted off long reigning champion, Wladimir Klitschko.
When this bout was initially announced, the response was rather mediocre. Fury has had two fights since his return. The first was a joke against Sefer Seferi, a fighter that didn’t want to be in the ring with him to begin with and his latest was a decision over Francesco Pianeta, which was a lackluster 10 round decision win, but it was by design. Fury has a plan and he needed rounds to get his groove back and he’s found it. The second half of that fight showed a sharper Fury land with more regularity and he could have stopped Pianeta but that wasn’t the plan.
Even though the reception was so-so initially, the press tour has changed that. Fury knows how to sell and he knows how to get into the heads of his opponents and Wilder may be falling victim to the spell. Even though both men want to sell this fight, I get the sense that Wilder is getting irritated and maybe confused and that’s not good if it carries over to a fight where he’s going to have to figure out a puzzle to win.
Most of the fighters that have gone against Wilder have come in with that look, just like the majority of the Mike Tyson opponents. They did not want to be there and Wilder helped to convince them to exit and exit quickly. Fury is not going to be scared and he’s going to try to use movement and counter-shots to annoy and confuse the champion. He knows Wilder’s best weapons and will try to neutralize them, but there is a big risk.
Even though Fury has the mental edge heading into December 1st, it doesn’t mean that it will translate into success inside the ropes. Wilder is a truth machine and that right hand comes unexpectedly and randomly. For all the critics of Wilder’s wild style, they cannot argue with the results. His victory over Luis Ortiz was an example of how his raw talent was worth more than the skill of Ortiz. On paper, Ortiz had the edge and should have won, but that right hand and heart of the champion was too much and continued the path of destruction. Fury may come out and may win rounds, but if he’s not alert every second of every round, that right hand may find a home and if it does, he won’t need any follow ups. Wilder is one of the most explosive one punch knockout artists in history.
On December 1st, the two trains of thought is that one, Fury fights a great fight, confuses and neutralizes Wilder and takes a decision win. Two, Wilder finds the mark as he always does and knocks Fury out somewhere in the mid to later rounds. Of course, there are other possibilities. This is a fight where anything can happen and may happen. It is one of the most exciting heavyweight boxing matches in recent history and should prove to be a very interesting battle of styles.
