Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury meet in rare and truly unpredictable fight
We’re here again. Tonight, Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder battle for heavyweight supremacy under the Las Vegas lights for the second time after their unforgettable inaugural bout in December 2018.
It was the type of fight which oozed a cinematic charm the moment the bell rang and ascended to Hollywood legacy with every passing round. It’s a fight which has been dissected and admired since its completion and as the rematch has creeped nearer and nearer, it’s the essential tool in previewing what’s to come.
Most fights lose their sheen upon completion, but this was different. The combination of pathos, backstory, drama and unpredictability electrified all who watched and made the 4am ring walk completely worth it. Fury’s sublime movement and Wilder’s initial disbelief that the man in front of him, with the love handles and the skinny legs was maintaining his legend above the insanity.
The ninth round knockdown, the fear of the scorecards and then, that twelfth round, three minutes that will never get boring because they represent the entire meaning of hope. Jesus Christ returning to Earth wouldn’t make people believe in belief more than Tyson Fury rising from the canvas after being absolutely obliterated by Deontay Wilder. With widening eyes and steady legs, the audacity, the absurdity of Fury dominating the rest of the round from immobility just seconds before.
At that point, the official result was pointless, especially when the draw announcement was confirmed. In some ways it was perfect - both fighters kept their undefeated record, both could claim they were still the greatest. But in truth, that night belonged to Tyson Fury and Tyson Fury only. All the years in the wilderness, all that weight, all the booze and drugs, every decision led to that iconic moment when he withstood all the might of the heaviest hitter on the planet.
14 months on and the romanticism of that fight has been a hindrance in marketing the rematch. How can you replicate perfection? Whoever directed the second Mamma Mia film achieved it, but most have failed, including Wilder and Fury over the past month. Why waste time watching two loudmouths in hoodies badmouth each other when the art they already created exists forever on YouTube?
Hearing dosser or bombsquad is moot when the compelling grandeur of December 2018 exists. Fury is now a beloved mainstream celebrity, not the misunderstood miscreant a bad day away from a five stone weight gain he was before. Wilder too has mellowed, replacing obscenities with cod-philosophical nonsense you’d expect to hear in a cut scene from Mary Poppins. Something is missing, and that’s believability that this fight matters as much to either man.
And truthfully, why would it? Both know who really won in their first meeting and yeah, the rematch will determine who the best heavyweight on the planet is, but we knew who that was at the moment Tyson Fury won the first round against Wilder. The difference in quality was staggering, barring that fearsome power from Wilder which still shouldn’t have been enough for him to earn a draw on the night.
Still though, there’s a fascination with what will go down on Saturday night and quite rightly so. The buzz will emerge after the weigh in and as the clock agonisingly crawls through the early stages of Sunday morning, that sickening feeling of tension and excitement will emerge because, just like before, nobody has any idea who will win.
If the rematch had taken place in early 2019, it would have been easier to predict, with the momentum firmly in Fury’s favour. That allure has changed somewhat after a stuttering year for the Englishman. A lucrative deal with ESPN boosted Fury’s bank balance, but his two fights gave little indication of how well he’ll deal with Wilder again.
Fury smashed apart Germany’s tenth best heavyweight in June, before a much tougher fight than expected against Sweden’s Otto Wallin in September. A points win for Fury was good for stamina training, but he suffered an awful cut early in the bout which many believe could reopen just five months later.
Wilder’s stock too has dimmed a touch even considering his two knockout victories in 2019.
Dominic Breazeale was cleaned out within a round in May, while Luis Ortiz gave Wilder all he could handle in November before being spectacularly stopped in the seventh round. While both wins ended decisively, Wilder’s vulnerabilities were clearly displayed each time.
Ortiz’s showing, even into his forties, showed that Wilder hasn’t improved as a boxer since the first Fury fight, and if he can’t find that power shot, does he have any chance of winning?
The bookmakers cannot split the two, with the odds exactly equal for each to win. Strange things happen in rematches however, especially after epics. Fury to knock out Wilder, or Wilder to win on points both seem unrealistic, and yet given the 2019 both men had, who would be surprised by either outcome? Half of Fury’s head was split open in September, while Wilder went life and death just three months ago.
It’s these variables which make the fight so much more exciting than your momma jokes and naff press conferences. How can anyone genuinely have a convincing prediction when everything we know about these men demands that you expect the unexpected?
Nothing in sport, not even a World Cup final can match the mythic quality of a heavyweight fight between the best in the world. On Saturday night, after the pantomime of talk has finished, the physicality begins.
The fascination remains once the bluster is removed. It’s the artist against the attacker, the miracle man turned WWE superstar meets the chosen one with the divine power. Given the devout religious beliefs of both men, if there really is a God, floating between a 747 and Neil Armstrong’s footprints, put your money on another draw and a third fight later this year.
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