By Geno McGahee
I’m a big fan of Deontay Wilder, 42-1-1, 41 KO’s. The former WBC heavyweight champion has brought a lot of excitement to the division and is, easily, one of the best punchers in the history of boxing. At any point in a fight, he can end it with one shot. As he’s said, he only has to be right for one second to win a fight.
The first blemish on the record of Wilder was a draw with former heavyweight champion, Tyson Fury, 30-0-1, 21 KO’s. It was a great and close fight where Wilder came on late with a knockdown to escape with his title. It was that final round where Fury discovered the path to beat him. Out of desperation, Fury fought back instead of moving and boxing and he got the better of Wilder. That led to the rematch in February of this year.
Fury came in heavier for the rematch, intending to bully the lighter champion around the ring and that’s what he did. He pushed Wilder back, taking the risk of possibly taking one of those right hands, and dominated. Wilder could not get his space and could not set the pace of the fight. Opponents of Wilder followed the same pattern, typically. They would try to avoid the incoming by moving around the ring, or, if they attacked and got hit, they would turn to retreat and allowed Wilder to target his shots.
The fight was stopped in the seventh round as Wilder’s corner had seen enough. A 270 pound man pounding shot after shot at the champ’s head was too much and they saved their fighter, but Wilder never believed he could be defeated. He convinced himself that he was the best heavyweight of all time. That confidence helped him in the past and led him to so many victories, but it’s leaving a sour taste in the mouths of the boxing fans as he makes excuse after excuse for his defeat to Fury.
The immediate reaction from Wilder was rage at his corner and threats of termination for his trainer. When things settled down, he blamed the defeat on his costume being too heavy and draining him of his energy. The claim was dismissed by the fans and most thought that the excuses would cease, but the more that Wilder thought about the matter, the more he looked for reasons that he lost. He looked for something he could pinpoint…some way he can prove that he was cheated out of the fight and didn’t really lose.
The latest claim by Wilder is that Fury had tampered with his gloves going into the fight to make the punches harder. This is not a claim that can be immediately dismissed because there have been plenty of examples of fighters doing this. Antonio Margarito was caught and there were rumors that Diego Corrales, Felix Trinidad and Marco Antonio Barrera all tampered with their gloves to make them a move devastating puncher. In the case of Fury, there is no evidence and Wilder did have representation in the locker room when he was taped up. Ever since the Margarito scandal, things have tightened up and the allegations against Fury seem unlikely. The extra pop in his shots probably came from the extra weight he put on to be stronger.
In December, the two will meet again and the bad blood is already boiling. Wilder may not be the sore loser that he appears to be and maybe this is some sort of mind game that he’s hoping to get results in the ring. Should Fury come into the fight angry, maybe he will fight a foolish fight, but it’s hard to imagine Fury allowing his emotions to get the better of him. I think that Fury will follow the game plan that was so successful in the rematch and it will be up to Wilder to adjust and approach the fight with a different strategy.
The third match between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder might be overlooked and Wilder might be overlooked in this. Considering how dominant Fury was, most are leaning heavily to the champion to retain, but he will still be navigating through a mine field and if Wilder had learned any new tricks, he may find the route to land his right hand and he only needs one. I suspect this third outing might be the best we’ve seen between the two.
