Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury 2 – face off at LA press conference

By Boxing News - 01/13/2020 - Comments

By Sean Jones: Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury met up on Monday for their press conference in Los Angeles to talk about their upcoming rematch on February 22. The lineal heavyweight champion Fury said he’s going to stand in the center of the ring and FIGHT Wilder, and not use the same herky-jerky style that he did in 2018.

Fury wants to stand his ground more in rematch

That fight was scored as a 12 round draw. It was a winnable one for Fury if he’d stood his ground a little bit more. All the movement that Fury used likely turned off the judges, who gave Wilder credit for him coming forward trying to make the fight for 12 rounds. It doesn’t matter that Fury out-boxed him the entire fight. The judges credited Wilder for being aggressive, and obviously for knocking Fury down twice.

Compared to some of their previous press conferences for their first fight, today’s was calm. WBC heavyweight champion Wilder (42-0-1, 41 KOs) and Fury (29-0-1, 20 KOs) showed a lot of respect for one another, and neither seemed upset. They looked more like two business partners rather than two guys that will be trying to decapitate each other on February 22 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Fury promises to be as slippery as a goldfish against Wilder

“I’m not looking for herky jerky. I want him [Wilder] to meet me dead center in the ring and have a slugfest,” said Fury during Monday’s news conference in Los Angeles. “He knows I rocked him three or four times, but I didn’t have the gas to finish him off. Just look out for the right hand because you’re going to sleep in two rounds,” said Fury.

“I’m going to kick this mother-f— a,” Fury said about Wilder. “He’s gotten out of jail many times with that one right hand. It ain’t luck; he has to put it there. I’m going to be super slippery like a goldfish. I’m going to be super sharp after going 12 rounds,” said Fury.

I’m not sure if Fury is thinking before he speaks, considering that he’s contradicting himself. He starts out saying he’s not going to be “herky-jerky” against Wilder, and that he’ll meet him in the center of the ring to slug. But in Fury’s next breath, he’s saying he’s going to b “super slippery.

Fury can’t be slippery if he’s standing in the center of the ring slugging with Wilder. Being slippery is what Fury did last time he fought Wilder in Los Angeles. Fury was on the move the entire fight until the end, which is when he was knocked down twice.

Deontay says Fury’s lineal title run ends with him

“On Feb. 22 that lineal bulls— ends right there,” said Wilder about Fury’s lineal title. “The only belt he has is the one that holds up his pants.”

Wilder is put off with the way that Fury is trying to put himself in the same category as him and the other world champions by calling himself the ‘lineal heavyweight champion’. What the lineal business is all about is Fury beat former heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko in 2015 to take his IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO belts.

At the time, Wladimir was considered to be the best in boxing at heavyweight. However, the reality is Wladimir was 38-years-old, and nowhere near the guy he’d been when he was 28. Fury barely edged Wladimir in a boring 12 round decision win, but he didn’t shine in that fight. He beat Wladimir by spoiling, and doing the minimum.

Fury stayed out of the ring partying it up and patting himself for his win over Klitschko. Unfortunately, Fury stayed out of the ring for so long, he was stropped of his world titles. When they were finished stripping Fury of his belts, the only thing one he had left was his lineal championship status. The lineal title isn’t a real belt though. It’s an invisible title.

Wilder is easily out-boxed says Peter Fury

“We all know well that if Wilder gets hit, he’ll struggle,” said Fury’s old trainer Peter Fury to Boxing Social. “This is the heavyweight division and anything can happen. From what I’m hearing and what I’m seeing of Deontay Wilder, and the way he done his last fight. He’s gotten too confident relying on his right hand, and that’s a disaster waiting to happen. He’s easily out-boxed, Wilder.

“Everybody seems to out-box him. So he’s easily out-boxed,” Fury said about Wilder. “So anyone with the right tactics, Wilder is going to lose. Not because Wilder’s not talented. It’s because Wilder is relying on that power, and he’s relying on nothing else. So he’s happy to let rounds slip by until he can land that big shot, but with that attitude, that’s a recipe for disaster,” said Peter on Wilder.

Trainer Peter Fury is making it sound easier than it actually is when he talks about fighters being able to out-box Wilder. It’s not that easy. Wilder gets his pound of flesh no matter who he faces, and you’re not going to beat him without suffering.

Fury was doing a bang up job of giving Wilder a boxing lesson in 2018, but then he ran into trouble and was knocked down twice by him. Those weren’t fluke knockdowns. Wilder hit Fury had in the 9th and 12th rounds to drop him. Wilder probably should have been given credit for a knockdown in the 12th round, but the referee appeared to give a delayed count.

Deontay is on borrowed time – Peter

“That will happen unless he changes his tactics, because he’s on borrowed time,” said Peter about Wilder. “He’s not going to be able to land that big shot every time. Basically, whoever is going to make the final bell is winning it, you know? That tactics he’s got is just relying on the power all the time, and forgetting the boxing. He’s going to come undone,” said Peter.

Sooner or later Wilder will be beaten, but the same goes for Fury and Anthony Joshua. Both of those guys are going to get beaten eventually, and that’s just how the sport is. But by the time Wilder gets beaten, he’ll likely be a wealthy man many times over.