TODAY, the biggest rematch in heavyweight boxing finally gets underway. Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury 2 has the boxing world titillated. The close, controversial nature of the first bout only added to the impetus for this second installment.
Both men have predicted knockouts which should be quite interesting.
Wilder. During the first bout, Wilder was being outboxed by Fury. The latter did a good job avoiding Wilder’s wild bombs and had the “Bronze Bomber” swinging at nothing but thin air.
But Wilder patiently stalked his cunning adversary and eventually scored with a knockdown in the ninth round. Entering the 12th round, most thought he needed a knockout and he eventually was able to score a devastating knockdown only to see Fury incredibly get up and finish the fight on his foot.
Ergo, the controversial split draw.
Fury. The loquacious Fury did what was expected, boxing and showcasing his superior ring generalship. He showed plenty of gamesmanship too, often sticking out his tongue, dropping his hands and daring Wilder to attack him.
It seemed like he had it under control, up until the knockdowns happened.
Rematch. Fury has declared he will be gunning for the stoppage, and at the weigh-in came in at a whopping 273 pounds, the third heaviest of his career while Wilder came in at 231, his heaviest.
Fury rationalized he needed the added bulk in going for the knockout which appears to be a radical departure from his strategy for the first fight.
I don’t doubt for a second that Fury can knock out Wilder. When you are as big as these guys, the power they can generate is enough for a stoppage, regardless of whether you are a knockout puncher or not.
But I really don’t expect anything to change for the rematch. Fury will probably be more aggressive, but if he doesn’t score with a knockout early in the fight, he will go back to what he does best- slick boxing.
It’s called muscle memory, and Fury (29-0, 20 KOs) will instinctively draw on that.
He will most likely pile up the points again through majority of the rounds, but it will be Wilder (42-0, 41KOs) who will remain to be very dangerous up until the final bell because it is he who wields enough torque in that right hand to suddenly end the night with one punch.
Verbatim. “At the end of the day, we’re heavyweights, so it really doesn’t matter about the weight.”---Deontay Wilder (www.espn.com)
Last Rounds. Are on Atty. Oscar Tan Jr. and son Third who recently celebrated their birthdays. Cheers!