Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury II fight preview

On December 1, 2018 Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury put their undefeated records on the line and battled each other to a controversial split-decision draw. The two heavyweights will run in back Friday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada in what is one of the most anticipated fights in quite some time.

For their first fight, Tyson Fury weighed in at 256.5 pounds to Deontay Wilder’s 212 pounds, weights that were light for both fighters. Wilder has claimed that he gave up too much weight in the first fight and will look to be much heavier on Saturday. Regardless, Wilder put Fury on the mat twice in the match, including in the bout’s final round.

As if there was not already a buzz around their rematch, the final pre-fight news conference on Wednesday turned the heat up a notch. The face-off between the world’s two best heavyweights erupted into a shoving match that had to be broken up by security. The Nevada State Athletic Commission has seen enough and has banned the two from having a face-off after there Wednesday evening weigh-in.

Tyson Fury wins if…

  • he can avoid the big shots. This goes without saying. Wilder hit Fury as hard as he has ever been hit, twice, during their first match and Fury still got up. Regardless, this looks bad on a judges scorecard and, big chin or not, there is no guarantee that Fury will get up again, especially if Fury is packing extra weight behind those punches. One careless move could mean lights out for Fury.
  • he counters with body shots. Fury will be looking to win a 36 minute scorecard fight. The Brit needs to counter big shots and jabs with body shots and jabs of his own and rack up the points. It is already expected that Fury’s output will be much greater than Wilder’s, if he hurts Wilder by going to the body, that’s just a bonus.
  • he comes out fast and aggressive. Fury will look to hit Wilder with all shots from all angles in the first several rounds and set up the one-two punches in the later rounds. More weight to Wilder’s frame could cause him to tire more easily. Word out of camp, however, is that Wilder is in the best shape of his life and his last two training camps have been legitimate camps.

Deontay Wilder wins if…

  • he catches Fury slipping. Wilder needs to stay on the outside and use his jab to set up the big, overhand right. If that happens with regularity, a knockout in round seven or earlier is a huge possibility.
  • he stays on the outside and boxes Fury. Fury has called Wilder a “one trick pony”. The thing about that one trick is that it can end this fight early. And if it doesn’t, does that mean Wilder loses? Not neccessarily. Wilder does not have the boxing skill that Fury has, but he’s no slouch. He can stay on the outside, throw jabs and land power punches and win this fight without a knockout or even a knockdown.
  • he becomes impatient. Wilder has become very patient over his last few fights. While that is not always a bad thing, it can cause him to get outworked. Louis Ortiz showed that in their last fight. Before Wilder caught him in the 7th round, Ortiz was outworking Wilder and was ahead on every scorecard. Over his last several fights, in fact, Wilder has been behind on the scorecards before scoring knockouts. The heavy-hitting Wilder cannot afford to do that against Fury. Fury has shown that he can take the big shots and still get up. If this fight goes the distance like the last one, Wilder’s patience could come back to bite him.

Prediction:

This fight is as close to 50/50 as it gets. On one hand, you can see Fury avoiding the big punch, outworking Wilder and winning a decision without even hurting him (Wilder has claimed that Fury has pillows for fists). On the other hand, Wilder will look to land what has been called the heaviest punch in boxing and has been able to do so before. This fight will come down to conditioning and training. The weigh-in will tell us much more, however, the thought seems to be that Wilder is heavier than before (maybe even 220) AND faster. That is a bad combination for Tyson Fury. Deontay Wilder wins by knockout in round 8 (subject to change after the weigh-in.

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Leroy Travers

Follow my coverage of Lacrosse (College and MLL) as well as Georgetown Hoyas Basketball, the Washington Redskins, and most other sports here on the MSB. Living in neighboring Sussex County, Delaware, I have been a huge Maryland Sports fan for almost 40 years. Follow me on Twitter @el_travs, and on Instagram @Letrav.

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