By Jeff Aranow: Former heavyweight unified champion Tyson Fury (27-0, 19 KOs) will be using former Manny Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach in his corner as his cut man and adviser for the Deontay Wilder fight next month on December 1 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.
Fury, 30, recently moved his training camp from Big Bear, California to Roach’s Wildcard Gym in Los Angeles, California. While training at the legendary Wildcard Gym, Fury, 6’9″, has gotten the chance to get to know Roach, and he’ll be hoping to use his knowledge to pull off an upset against Wilder (40-0, 39 KOs) next month on December 1. According to Sports Illustrated writer Chris Mannix, Roach will be in Fury’s corner for the Wilder fight helping him. Roach has been sitting in on Fury’s training sessions at the Wildcard Gym, and he’s been helping his trainer Ben Davison.
Fury already has a plan in mind to use to defeat Wilder. Roach isn’t saying what that plan is, but it likely involves using movement to tire Wilder out to take him deep into the fight.
Wilder’s lack of experience in fighting 12 round fights could make him vulnerable to Fury’s punches in the later rounds if the fight lasts that long. The only time Wilder, 32, has gone the full 12 round distance during his 10-year pro career was in 2015 in his first fight against Bermane Stiverne. Wilder injured his right hand in the early rounds of the fight, and this prevented him from being able to load up on his shots the way he normally does.
Roach’s expertise as an adviser will be an important factor for Fury to have a chance of beating Wilder. Fury is facing the biggest puncher in the heavyweight division in the lightning fast Wilder, and he’ll be fighting him in front of what will likely be a large pro-Wilder crowd on December 1 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.
“He asked me if I’d work in his corner,” Roach said to SI.com. “He asked me if I could do cuts. I said, ‘Yeah, I have guys better than me though.’ He said, ‘Do you know what you’re doing?’ And I said, ‘Of course I do—I have everything you need.’ So I’m the cut man.”
Wilder’s opponents rarely suffer cuts in his fights. One reason for that is they don’t last long enough for them to suffer a cut. When the 2008 U.S Olympian Deontay Wilder does connect cleanly with his punches, his opponents go down for the count.
Roach’s ability to put together superb game plans makes him a valuable asset as a trainer. Most boxing fans believe that Fury will need to fight the perfect fight for him to defeat Wilder on December 1. Having Roach in Fury’s corner will certainly give him an extra edge that he didn’t have before.
What Roach won’t be able to do is to help Fury take the heavy shots from Wilder. Fury is going to need to be able to withstand some big punches from Wilder for him to beat him. Fury has had to lose a lot of weight to get down to his old fighting weight of the 250s. When Fury first started training for his comeback, he weighed in the 390 lb region. He’s now training off approximately 140 lbs and is looking sleek like the fighter of old. However, the 215 lb Wilder moves almost as well as Fury, and he’s not carrying around as much as weight as him. Wilder is built like a track athlete, but with amazing punching power and quickness. Fury is very likely going to need to be able to stand and fight with Wilder for him to have chance of getting the ‘W’ on December 1. The way that Fury beat Wladimir Klitchko in 2015, by using movement, probably won’t be effective against Wider. He cuts off the ring quite well for a big man, and he’s got the reach to land right hands on Fury’s chin even when he’s on the outside.
Since returning from his long 2 1/2 year layoff from the ring, Fury has won his two comeback fights in beating Sefer Seferi and Francesco Pianeta. Fury looked good at times in both fights, but he looked rusty and lacked the movement that he had shown in his fight against Klitschko. In fairness to Fury, he was still carrying around a lot of excess weight in both fights. Fury looks a lot trimmer in preparing for the Wilder fight, and it’s possible that he’ll be weighing in the 240s by December 1.