Who Wins Fury vs Wilder II
Who Wins Tyson Fury vs Deontay Wilder II?
Rematches in the fight game are often cynical grabs for money. Promotional traction exists from the first fight, and the residual public interest can be financially leveraged accordingly. Tyson Fury vs Deontay Wilder II is no such fight. It brings together two of the greatest heavyweights of the modern era and there is genuinely unfinished business to be resolved.
The first fight went largely to script. Wilder is a professional knockout artist who cares nothing for winning any other way. He happily gives up rounds secure in the knowledge that he can win the fight with a single blow that will lay his opponent out cold. He has done this so many times that it would make no real sense to fight any other way. Fury is more of a classic boxer who fights each round to win points. He is remarkably elusive for his size, 6 foot 9 and 253 pounds (115kgs), and he jabs, moves, ducks and weaves like nobody else in the division. He is capable of knocking an opponent out but gives himself several ways to win.
The first bout played out accordingly. Wilder went knockout hunting, while Fury put together winning rounds. Wilder eventually found a home for his massive right hand, but Fury miraculously survived, rising from the canvas in one of the most remarkable comebacks ever witnessed. The blatant corruption that still haunts the sport was, however evident in the scorecards, that somehow deemed the contest a draw.
The interesting aspect of a rematch is a cerebral one. Who learned the most from the first encounter? Who has done their homework, and found new ways to exploit holes in their opponent’s game? Who will best adjust to their mistakes? Who has devised the better blueprint?
The Importance of Boxing Strategy
For Fury the path to victory is clear. He needs to again avoid the devastation of Wilder’s power, but he needs to make Wilder pay more for his reckless approach. Wilder loads his punches with such force that when they miss he is wide open to counters. Fury needs to make him miss, as he did in the first fight, but then punish him for his one-dimensional strategy. For Wilder, he needs to throw more jabs, and work different angles of attack. As a power puncher, he operates mainly on the straight line, but this becomes predictable and easy to read as the rounds pass by.
Fury has stated he will knock Wilder out to ensure he is not robbed again by poor/questionable judging. He has changed coaches since the first bout, and the new team is much more focussed on aggression and attack. They may have awoken a more ruthless streak in the champ.
How to Profit from this Heavyweight Spectacle
So who wins, and more importantly how? As we go to print the bookmakers have the fight at exact coin-flip odds. The very obvious bet here is Fury on points and Wilder by knockout. A small profit can be extracted by betting both sides. If a small profit is not exciting enough, back Fury by knockout, it’s almost inconceivable that Wilder could win on points. There is just a sense that something special awaits us.
The conflicting styles, the depth of the Fury story, the opposing strengths of the fighters, we may be in for a heavyweight classic. Perhaps the bet is that the fight won’t go the distance. Or perhaps it’s a no bet fight. Get together with some mates, sip on your beverage of choice, score the rounds on a consensus basis and enjoy the spectacle. We will see two incredibly gifted athletes, large agile men who risk it all by stepping into the ring in a world where soy lattes, political correctness, and emasculation are all too pervasive.