‘This is judgment day.’ Wilder-Fury rematch conjures up Tyson-level heavyweight hype
Their first title fight earned distinction as one of the top heavyweight bouts of the young century. For more than 20 years, the division lacked an event with pulsating ebb and flow moments, spiced with the dramatic knockdowns.
When they fought 14 months ago, Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury provided boxing fans with a setting the division lacked since the epic trilogy between Evander Holyfield-Riddick Bowe of the early- and mid-1990s.
Wilder and Fury captivated fans and the split draw outcome that allowed Wilder to retain his sanctioning body belt created demand for an immediate rematch.
Instead, Wilder and Fury marinated the second bout, using their 2019 match calendar by fighting two different opponents. One of Wilder’s bouts last year was a seventh-round knockout over Miami resident Luis Ortiz for his 10th successful title defense.
The Wilder-Fury rematch tease finally ends Saturday night. Wilder will grant Fury a second shot at his World Boxing Council belt in Las Vegas. Fox Sports and ESPN will jointly broadcast the pay-per-view event.
“The first fight was an amazing fight, it was a very controversial fight,” Wilder said. “We left people confused about what happened or who won. This is where we come and settle everything. This is judgment day.”
Not since Mike Tyson’s reign has a heavyweight champion established a knockout-punching pedigree like Wilder. Moreover, Wilder (42-0-1, 40 KOs) elevated the heavyweight class’ importance with U.S. fight fans after a 20-year lull. Each Wilder ring appearance now is hyped similarly to the peak of Tyson’s run – a knockout likely to happen.
Although he couldn’t finish Fury in the first match, Wilder scored knockdowns in the ninth and 12th rounds that helped him overcome Fury’s busier punch activity throughout the distance. The two knockdowns swung one of the judge’s scorecards in Wilder’s column, while a second judge scored it a draw. Fury won the bout on the third judge’s verdict.
“I’ve always had power,” Wilder said. “I always tell the story of how my grandmother said I was anointed by God; that God is trying to use me for things. It’s just all about living, coming into this world and finding your purpose in life. I think I found one of my purposes in life, and of course that’s whooping (rear ends) and taking names, at this point in time. And I do that very well.”
Fury (29-0-1, 20 KOs) won multiple sanctioning body heavyweight titles when he defeated former champion Wladimir Klitschko in 2015. But Fury’s reign ended without a defense. The native of Great Britain vacated his titles after dealing with substance abuse problems that sidelined him for two-and-a-half years.
Five fights into his ring return Fury prides on being the “Lineal Champion” because he never lost his title to an opponent.
“I’m the best of my era and I took that title from Wladimir Klitschko,” Fury sad. “Nobody disputed he was the best and I took that from him, until someone beats me, that’s my title.
“What’s going to happen in this fight is that I’m going to get what I rightfully won last time. I’m going to get the green (WBC) belt and keep my lineal title. And if he wants to rematch me after, I’ll beat him again. I’ve already beat him once, and I know I can beat him three times in a row.”
In the buildup to the rematch, Fury hypes how he will look for a knockout yet avoid Wilder’s power. The knockout-searching strategy could prove risky given Wilder’s ability to finish fights with one punch.
“If he does that, it’s going to make the fight that much more interesting and hype the fight up even more,” Wilder said of Fury’s plans. “So, we’ll see what happens. Deep down in his heart, I really feel that he’s nervous. I really feel that he’s very, very nervous from the first time of what happened. When you knock a person down and give him a concussion, you never forget that. You never forget who did it to you and how they did it.”
Despite absorbing the two knockdowns, Fury said he boxed sufficiently to win the first fight.
“Deontay Wilder can make all the excuses he wants to make,” Fury said. “Everyone on his team can tell him he won that fight, but as a fighting man, you know when you win and lose a fight. I’m going to go out there give him a boxing lesson and knock him out.”
Coming up
Friday (8 p.m., Miccosukee Resort and Gaming, 500 S.W. 177th Ave, Miami): announced seven-bout card, headlined by Jonathan Gonzalez vs. Saul Juarez, 10, junior-flyweights; tickets range between $35 and $75; 305-222-4600.
Saturday (9 p.m., pay-per-view): Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury, 12, for Wilder’s WBC heavyweight title.
This story was originally published February 17, 2020 at 12:31 PM.