By Scott Gilfoid: Deontay Wilder says he understands why Tyson Fury didn’t want to fight him in a rematch after the way he dropped him in the final round, and left him with a concussion last December. Fury (27-0-1, 19 KOs) decided to fight the weaker punching Tom Schwarz for his next fight on June 15 rather than getting back in the ring with Wilder. Fury seems satisfied that he’s not facing Wilder in a rematch for some reason.
Deontay: Fury “lost something”
Deontay says Fury “lost something” when he was knocked out in talking about his memory. Fury couldn’t remember how he got knocked down or in getting up off the canvas, Wilder says. That part of Fury’s memory was gone.
Wilder will be defending his WBC title this Saturday night against Dominic Breazele (20-1, 18 KOs) at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The fight will be shown on Showtime World Championship Boxing.
Fury looked like he was out cold in the 12th round after Wilder dropped him with a beautiful right-left combination to the head. Fury didn’t even try to brace himself as he fell. When he was on the canvas, both of his eyes while referee Jack Reiss gave a count. It was like something out of an old movie, because you don’t see that kind of stuff nowadays. The referees stop the fight when a fighter looks unconscious the way Fury looked.
If Wilder knocked something loose in Fury’s head, it’s better that he fight a weaker puncher like the 26-year-old Schwarz than it would be for him to get a second helping of Deontay by fighting him in an immediate rematch. It wasn’t entirely Fury’s call in him not fighting Wilder (40-0-1, 39 KOs) again. Fury’s new promoters at Top Rank Boxing wanted him to fight Schwarz. They might have seen the risk involved in putting Fury back in with Wilder so soon after the way he was knocked down in the 12th round. Top Rank boss Bob Arum is smart, and so are the other top brass with the promotional company. It would have been too risky to put Fury back in with a big puncher like Wilder after the way he was knocked down in round 12.
”I understand as a fighter the decision that he made,” Wilder said to Fighthub about Tyson Fury choosing to take a soft fight against Tom Schwarz on June 15 rather than face him in a rematch. ”The head is not meant to be hit in the first place. Any doctor will tell you, ‘the head is not meant to be hit,’ especially with guys getting knocked out over and over again. Any doctor will tell you it’s not good for you to continue to do that, because with punch something can happen. So with Fury, I gave him a concussion in that fight. The man had lost his memory. He even said that he don’t know how he got put on the canvas nor how he got up. With that being said, he lost something. So I understand when you take a guy ranked #63, lower opposition to see if ‘my marbles are still there.’ It’s wiser for him to have done than than for him to take a rematch with me. Like he said before, ‘Deontay’s power is real. He’s the hardest hitting heavyweight in the division. That’s why Joshua don’t want to fight him, because the power is real.’ So when you know that, it’s cool to take some warm-ups. But you want to hide behind offers, that’s what you do. Everyone knows that fight will happen. It’s just a matter of time,” Wilder said.
So there it is. Fury’s concussion that he received against him is why he’s being put back in with him. Wilder explaining why Fury chose to take the soft path in taking a fight against the little known German heavyweight Schwarz (24-0, 16 KOs) rather than taking the rematch that the boxing world wanted to see against Deontay. It’s too bad. Oh well. If there was something that Wilder knocked loose inside Fury’s head, Schwarz probably won’t be able to take advantage of it. He has no power at all. He’s more of a slapper than a puncher. Sometimes when fighters suffer knockouts, they’re susceptible to getting knocked out again in repeated fights. Fury looked to be knocked out by Wilder in the 12th, although the referee didn’t waive it off. It doesn’t matter. Fury was still badly hurt the way a fighter is when they’ve been knocked out. It’s just lucky for Fury that the referee didn’t waive it off when he was knocked out. It’s also very lucky that Wilder didn’t finish Fury with a big shot when he got up.
What are Top Rank’s alternatives if Fury can no longer take a punch?
If Fury’s punch resistance is no longer there due to the devastating knockdown/knockout he suffered against Wilder, then there’s a good chance his career will be over with. Fury’s promoters Top Rank can’t keep feeding him lower level fighters like Schwarz over and over, because the U.S boxing fans don’t want to see mismatches involving weak heavyweights. Fury’s promoter Bob Arum is convinced that the U.S public will love Fury based on his personality the way they loved George Foreman late in his career. Unfortunately, it’s not enough for Fury to be a good talker. He’s got to be able to entertain the American fans inside the ring, and he’s not shown that. In Fury’s two biggest fights of his career against Wilder and Wladimir Klitschko, he spoiled for 12 rounds, moving around the ring, slapping with his power shots, and pawing jabs. Both fights were boring to watch for many boxing fans. If all Fury can do is brag and trash talk, it won’t be enough for him to win over U.S fans. Foreman wasn’t a braggart. He was modest, made fun of his weight, and had charisma to along with his still formidable punching power. Fury isn’t anything like Foreman. If Fury can no longer take a good punch without nosediving into the canvas, then Top Rank will need to think about cashing out with him as soon as possible by putting him in with Wilder or Anthony Joshua.
These are the alternatives for Top Rank if Fury’s ability to take a hard shot is no longer there:
– Cash him out quickly against Wilder or Joshua
– Match him against soft opposition with no punching power
– Have Fury win a trinket title and defend it against obscure opposition