By Geno McGahee
The WBC heavyweight champion, Deontay Wilder, 40-0, 39 KO’s, is not a man that many boxers want to see across the ring from them as the opening bell rings. The other heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua, has elected to decline any unification ideas because the risk is not worth the reward. There is really no heavyweight crazy enough to want to fight Wilder, except for the former champion, Tyson Fury, 27-0, 19 KO’s.
This Saturday, Showtime will present a great card of boxing with the main event pitting Wilder against the man that never lost his title belts in the ring. This is a match of styles with both men heading into the event with a great deal of confidence, but there are plenty of mind games being played, mostly by the British big man.
Fury is 6 feet, 9 inches, and mixes reflexes with timing and movement to avoid the incoming punches and land his own. He is a boxer first, but his power is underrated. He has proven in the past that he can hit and stop an opponent should the opportunity present itself. He usually opts to just box his way to a decision when the opponent is notably dangerous.
In 2011, Fury made his presence known with a wide decision win over the then undefeated Dereck Chisora, taking home the British heavyweight title. He would beat up journeymen like Kevin Johnson and Vinny Maddalone before coming to the states to take on former cruiserweight, Steve Cunningham, getting off the floor and battering the smaller man into submission. A stoppage win over Chisora in a rematch led to a title shot against the long time reigning kingpin, Wladimir Klitschko in 2015 and when the dust settled, we had a new champ. Fury cleanly out-boxed Dr. Steelhammer and proved that he was one of the top big men in boxing.
If Fury would had faced Wilder in 2015, after he defeated Klitschko, he may have been the heavy favorite and may have cruised to another decision win over the younger and more inexperienced Bronze Bomber, but a lot has happened after that fight with Wlad. Fury would deal with some drug abuse issues and extreme weight gain. He would vacate the titles and leave the sport behind. He was gone, but not forgotten.
With three years away from the ring, Fury would return with two fights. The first was against Sefer Seferi, who didn’t realize that he was supposed to be fighting. The second was Fury’s real fight back, a ten round decision win over Francesco Pianeta, where he showed his defense, reflexes and timing. Those two fights put him into title contention again and without any other heavyweights wanting to get into the ring with Wilder, Fury got the offer and we have one of the most interesting matchups in recent history.
The reason why Wilder is so feared is his incredible power. He overcomes experience, better skillsets, and anything else that his opponent may have on him with a crushing right hand. In the absence of Fury, Wilder captured the WBC crown, taking a decision over Bermane Stiverne, his only fight ever to need judges. He has defended the title seven times and some of them can be dismissed as the battering of mediocrities like Eric Molina and Gerald Washington, but there are a couple of fights in there that should put Fury on notice that he is dealing with a monster that is continually improving.
November 2017, a rematch was made with Bermane Stiverne, the only man to see the final bell against Wilder. This was not a fight that Wilder wanted. He wanted to face Alexander Povetkin or Luis Ortiz, but both tested positive for steroids and were out of the fight, giving Stiverne a shot to avenge, but that was not going to happen. In one of the scariest displays of Wilder’s menace, Stiverne was dropped in the first round, got up, and watched as Wilder casually walked up to him with his hands down, daring him to throw a punch. Stiverne was terrified and didn’t throw and I can’t blame him. You don’t want him any angrier. Wilder would demolish Stiverne, leaving him knocked out cold and forcing the referee to tackle the champion to get him off.
The fight with Ortiz did happen in March of 2018 and it was a case of the two most avoided men in boxing finding each other. Ortiz had the edge, using his superior skill and consistency to control the champion, but the X factor came into play. Wilder knows how to find a home for his right hand and he did just that, dropping Ortiz three times en route to his most impressive win, a late knockout.
THE BREAKDOWN
QUALITY OF OPPOSITION
Both fighters have suffered from a lackluster heavyweight division, feasting on the remnants left by the Klitschko rule, but both have notable victories. Fury’s two victories over Chisora and his title-winning effort over Klitschko are the best names he has on his ledger. He beat some decent fighters, but Chisora and Wlad are the best names on his record and he handled both quite easily.
Wilder’s wins over Bermane Stiverne, Luis Ortiz and Chris Arreola make the top names on the list, but you can erase them all except for Ortiz. Wilder proved a lot with his gritty victories over Stiverne (the first time) and Arreola, but his come from behind demolition of Ortiz was an amazing display.
Both men handle B level heavyweights easily and have both beaten an A lister, but this fight against each other will give the fans a lot of answers for them both.
EDGE: EVEN
POWER
No question, this is what Wilder is about. Wilder may be the most powerful puncher in heavyweight history. When he lands that right hand, his opponent disappears. He can end a fight anytime and has incredible timing with it. His ability to make the openings to get the punch in is underrated. Fury has power, but it’s more clubbing and he lands it when you don’t expect it, which can stun his opponent. Wilder is, however, the scariest puncher that I’ve seen in a long time.
EDGE: WILDER
DEFENSE
Wilder has the power for sure, but Fury easily has better defense. He is the heavyweight division’s version of Floyd Mayweather, JR., easily dodging the incoming and frustrating the opponent. Wilder gets hit. He’s not difficult to find. He’s held up rather well and has stayed on his feet, but Fury is a boxing oddity. He is a near 7 foot slickster that can duck and dodge most anything. This will have to be in play and in play big time if he’s going to win this fight.
EDGE: FURY
CHIN
Fury has been dropped several times. Most of the time he was put on the floor because he was playing around and not focusing on the job at hand. It doesn’t take away from the fact that he has been down and been put down by much lesser punchers than Wilder. Wilder has taken the punches from big punchers like Ortiz and was stunned but didn’t leave his feet.
EDGE: WILDER
MENTALITY GOING INTO THE FIGHT
This is the most important category here and the one that makes this fight the most interesting. Wilder is a showman, but he pales in comparison to the bravado and confidence of Fury. When Stiverne was standing up at the press conference and saying what he was going to do to Wilder, it was obvious that even he didn’t believe it. Fury is not afraid of Wilder and his approach has rattled Wilder, obviously. The press tour was a display of brilliance by Fury as he played with Wilder and got him to act out of character. There was a definite change in the Wilder personality as he tried to keep up with his challenger’s gift of gab. This reminds me a great deal of Muhammad Ali – Sonny Liston where the unbeatable power-puncher was rattled by Ali’s antics, enough so that he lost before he stepped into the ring.
If the indications are correct, Fury gained some serious ground on the press tour and it could help him realize his dream to recapture the title that he never lost. This is an edge for Fury and it’s a big one.
EDGE: FURY
PREDICTION
This is a very tough fight to pick, but for Fury to win, he has to fight a perfect fight, using his timing, defense, and reflexes to outbox and out-think the champion. Fury has the chance and his demeanor coming into this match makes his chances better, but the right hand of Wilder is what I believe will be the decision maker in this fight.
Fury handles normal fighters easily and Wlad was a superb fighter, but he was very conventional. Wilder comes at his opponent in ways that they don’t see coming and if he lands that right hand, the opponent will be on the floor. It comes quick and it’s accurate and Wilder has the ability to find the key, even if it takes a few rounds, to get it in there.
Wilder will have issues with Tyson early, but when you consider that Fury has not faced good opposition in his return and has not had a good fight in 3 years. He is trying to rewind the clock and return to form and maybe he can, but he still won’t be able to predict where that right hand is coming from. I see Deontay Wilder fighting evenly over the first six rounds, but a right hand will land in the 7th, dropping Tyson for the count. This is a great fight but Wilder just seems like the right pick.
