By: Tony Penecale

The Heavyweight Championship has always been the most noteworthy prize in the sport.  Over the last few years, the interest in the fistic giants has dwindled. That has changed with the exciting power of Deontay Wilder and the charismatic showmanship of Tyson Fury.  

With their first encounter ending in a controversial draw, they find themselves sharing the ring again.  Both men with undefeated records and only a single draw (against each other) on their ledger.

The big men are taking center stage for the undisputed prize.  “The Bronze Bomber” and “The Gypsy King”…. Who will reign supreme?

AGE, RECORD, AND STATS

Wilder:  Age:   34 years old

Record:  42-0-1 (41 Knockouts)

Height:  6’7”

Weight:  219 * * Weight for last bout (11-23-19)

Reach:  83”

Fury: Age:  31 years old

Record:  29-0-1 (20 Knockouts)

Height:  6’9”

Weight:  254 * * Weight for last bout (9-14-19)

Reach:  85”

RING ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Wilder:

WBC Heavyweight Champion (’15-Pres)

Fury:

WBA Heavyweight Champion (’15-‘16)

WBO Heavyweight Champion (’15-‘16)

IBF Heavyweight Champion (’15-‘16)

IBO Heavyweight Champion (’15-‘16)

Lineal Heavyweight Champion (’15-Pres)

STYLE

Wilder:  

A wild-swinging, often-sloppy fighter with long arms and fight-changing power in both fists, Wilder likes to set the range with his lead hand and follow it with a variety of power punches.  He carries his power late into his fights and is capable of scoring a knockout at any time.

Fury:

A confident, self-assured, and sometimes cocky fighter, Fury has nimble moves and quickness for such a large fighter.  He combines good footwork with upper-body movement and ability to box either orthodox or southpaw, keeping opponents off-balance and setting up his own offensive attack.

THEIR FIRST BOUT

Wilder-Fury I: Fury opened the bout with effective movement, keeping Wilder off balance and unable to land anything significant.  Wilder was able to land several hard jabs in the 4^th round, trickling blood from Fury’s nose.  Fury spent time in the mid rounds as a southpaw and found success.  Wilder scored a knockdown in the 9^th round but his follow-up attack left him fatigued, allowed Fury to regain the momentum through the 11^th round.  The memorable 12^th round saw Wilder break through and land a right hand and left hook combination.  Fury fell hard to the canvas, flat on his back. He amazingly rose at the count of 9 and was outlanding Wilder as the final round concluded.  Alejandro Rochin scored 115-111 Wilder, Robert Tapper scored 114-112 Fury, and Phil Edwards scored 113-113.

STRENGTHS

Wilder:

* Power – The detonation at the end of Wilder’s fists, primarily is right hand, is of nuclear proportions.  While his left hand carries substantial pop in it, it is Wilder’s right hand that is seen as maybe the most devastating punch in boxing today.  He can end fights by landing his right hand straight down the middle, arcing it over the top, or splitting the guard as an uppercut.

* Conditioning – Early in his career, when he was ending all of his fights within a few rounds, there were question marks if Wilder would fade in the later rounds.  He has proven that he can fight equally as hard in the late rounds and capable of a knockout until the final bell.

* Athleticism – Wilder combines a rare blend of size, speed, power, and athletic ability where is easy to imagine him being dominant in any type of athletic environment.

Fury: 

* Movement – For a man with the size and physique that resembles a silverback, Fury moves with the grace and agility of a ballet dancer.  He is light on his feet and possesses shifty upperbody movement that is uncanny for someone so large.

* Confidence – Fury is supremely confident in himself and believes in his ability.  He shows little or no fear in the ring. His self-assured charismatic nature gives him a psychological advantage.

* Resilient – Whether it was climbing off the canvas against Wilder, overcoming a horrific cut against Wallin, or battling against depression and substance abuse, Fury has shown a toughness and resiliency that are to be admired.

WEAKNESSES

Wilder:

* Sloppy – Wilder shows so much faith in his power that he is frequently wild and sloppy with his punches and footwork.  He often times looks very amateurish in the ring.  

* Trouble With Boxers – Fighters who use good movement and boxing ability trouble Wilder.  He struggles setting his feet and is often a step behind. He was trailing Luis Ortiz in both fights and was outclassed for most of his first fight with Fury.    

* Chin – The few times that Wilder was seriously chin-checked, he showed some flaws in his durability.  Ortiz had him badly hurt and close to a knockout loss.

Fury:

* Distractions – Fury is loving his new-found fame and talking WWE and MMA.  He split with his trainer Ben Davidson and is calling his own shots. Fury also has spells in the ring where he loses focus and he has found himself on the canvas more than once during a lapse in concentration.

* Personal Life – It is well-documented Fury’s past personal demons with depression and substance abuse, along with a weight gain to over 400 lbs.  While his triumphs over those demons is admirable, the lasting physical effects cannot be denied.

* Skin– It’s only been five months since Fury suffered a terrible gash over his right eye against Otto Wallin, requiring 47 stitches.  While doctors have deemed the cut sufficiently healed, his tender skin could reopen at the most inopportune time.

PREVIOUS BOUT

Wilder:  (11/23/19) – Wilder again scored a come-from-behind knockout against Luis Oritz.  After being outboxed for the majority of the first six rounds, Wilder set his range against a tiring Ortiz and landed a pulverizing right hand which resulted in a one-punch knockout.

Fury:

(9/14/19) – Fury survived a bloody contest with the undefeated but unknown Otto Wallin.  Fury suffered a cut over his right eye in the 3^rd round and the blood clearly affected his vision.  Despite the impairment, Fury still controlled the action and hurt Wallin several times en route to a decision victory.

3 BEST PERFORMANCES

Wilder:

* Artur Szpilka (1/16/16) – After falling behind early, Wilder took over in the 4^th round and started to settle down and control the action.  A single right hand in the 9^th round sent Szpilka down and unconscious, the 2016 Knockout of the Year.

* Bermane Stiverne (1/17/15) – Wilder answered questions about his stamina by going the full 12 rounds for the first time in his career and capturing the WBC title in the process.  Wilder utilized his long jab and kept Stiverne at bay with his underrated skillset.

* Luis Ortiz (3/3/18) – Wilder survived some scary moments against the oft-avoided Cuban veteran before prevailing by 10^th round knockout.  Wilder was troubled by Ortiz’s boxing skills early before knocking him down in the 5^th round.  An Ortiz rally in the 7^th had Wilder seriously hurt but Wilder was able to regroup and score the knockout a few rounds later.

Fury:

*  Wladimir Klitschko (11/25/15) – Fury went into Klitschko’s backyard and wrested the unified and lineal heavyweight championships via unanimous decision.  While the bout was a cautious affair, Fury was able to outwork Klitschko with superior footwork, movement, and a higher punch output.

* Derek Chisora (11/29/14) – Fury dominated the rematch with his British rival, boxing from a distance, switching between orthodox and southpaw, and punishing his adversary until the corner stopped the fight after 10 one-sided rounds.

* Deontay Wilder (12/1/18) – With the exception of two knockdowns and some curious judging, Fury was in control for most of the bout.  He avoided Wilder’s punches and landed effective counters, making Wilder looked confused and off-balance in the process.

KEYS TO VICTORY

Wilder:

* Utilize his jab and negate Fury’s awkward style

* Keep his power punches short and compact

* Don’t get mesmerized by Fury’s upperbody movement

Fury:

* Change the pace and keep Wilder guessing

* Use lateral movement to keep Wilder from setting his feet

* Do not get cocky against the ropes

QUESTIONS

Wilder:

* Can Wilder handle Fury’s unorthodox movement?

* Will Wilder employ a better gameplan?

*  Will Wilder become frustrated?

Fury:

* Will Fury try too hard for the knockout?

* Is Fury totally focused on boxing? 

* Is his cut eye susceptible to reinjury?

PENECALE PREDICTION

Both combatants are exceptional showmen and their respective ring entrances will have the crowd abuzz.  The electricity will be at a fever pitch at the opening bell. With their familiarity, there will be less of a feeling out process than their first encounter.  Fury will be on his toes moving forward and Wilder will try to time his advances and land counter punches. At the end of the 1^st round, Fury will taunt Wilder and there will be an exchange of words.

Fury’s constant movement and single punches will trouble Wilder as his counter punches will find mostly empty air.  The following rounds will be an exciting game of cat and mouse with the smaller Wilder in the role of the cat, futility trying to corner the larger Wilder.

Wilder will find success with his jab in the 6^th and 7^th rounds and a looping right hand will catch Fury on top of the head, knocking him off balance to the canvas.  Fury will rise, wink at his corner, and come bouncing back into action. The excitement will have Wilder swinging wildly and falling to the canvas himself after missing overexaggerated right hand.  

With Wilder seemingly arm-weary from his punch output the previous round, Fury will turn southpaw and land several hard right hands, then bounce out of range of any counter punches.

Fury’s movement and higher workrate will carry the action through the championship rounds, leading him again to an apparent lead going into the final round.

The decision this time will be unanimous with Dave Moretti and Glenn Feldman both scoring 115-112 and Steve Weisfeld a shade closer at 114-113, all in favor of “The Gypsy King” Tyson Fury.