By Dean Berman: Former middleweight champion Andy Lee is predicting a second-round knockout for Tyson Fury against Deontay Wilder this Saturday night. Lee, 35, is one of the new coaches Fury (29-0-1. 20 KOs) has brought in to improve his offense so that he can compete with Wilder (42-0-1, 41 KOs) on even terms more or less.
The last time Fury fought Wilder, his game plan was to just try and outbox him, and he did a good job doing that. It worked for the first eight rounds, but then Fury’s chin betrayed him in the later rounds when Wilder dropped him twice.
Although Fury did have Wilder hurt on a couple of occasions, his punches had nothing on them when he tried to follow up. Wilder was able to remain upright, and fight Fury off.
Lee says Fury’s jab has improved, as well as his balance and footwork, but he wants to see him unload with his power shots. That’s where Fury will show how much improvement he’s made since the last time he fought the 6’7″ Bronze Bomber.
Fury capable of knocking Wilder out says, Lee
“You’ll see,” said Andy Lee to IFL TV when asked if Fury can knockout Wilder in the first two rounds. “Of course, yeah. The way he’s punching now? Yeah. He hurt him several times in the first fight, but there was never any emphasis on the finish. And he was always told to back off, and he said, ‘I didn’t have the gas,’ because he had a long layoff, he came down from all that weight.
“He had 2 comeback fights that were sparring sessions, and then he goes in with Wilder,” said Lee on Fury. “Since then, he’s had two training camps, two fights, and this training camp. And in this training camp, he’s worked on his weaknesses.
“He’s improved his balance, he’s punching correctly, and he has a strict game plan of how he’s going to take this fight and the approach he’s going to take in this fight,” said Lee on Fury having a plan on how to beat Wilder.
Hopefully, Fury isn’t making a mistake in going for the knockout against Wilder. This could end badly for Fury if he walks into a right hand from Wilder, who will want him to come forward. That makes Wilder’s job much easier.
If Fury gets stopped in this fight, Lee and Sugar Hill Steward may be looking for new jobs. Fury got rid of his last trainer Ben Davison when he failed to help him produce a win against Wilder. Although Fury maintains that he did enough to rate the victory over Wilder, the fact that he sent Davison packing suggests that he doesn’t believe he deserved the win.
Lee predicts 2nd knockout for Fury
“If he hurts Wilder, he’ll be encouraged to go knock him out and stop him,” said Lee. “Why change anything, because he’s been highly successful for what he’s done. It’s just about to add things to what he already has. I believe his jab has improved. It’s hard to put a percentage on it, but you’ll see for yourself.
“Second round,” said Lee when asked what round Fury stops Wilder. “Tyson says he only has 3 fights left on his contract, and when they’re up, he’s going to retire. He says he wants Joshua, he wants Wilder and one more. He’s done everything he’s said he would,” said Lee.
Fury got banged around something awful when he tried to slug with his last opponent Otto Wallin. At the end of that fight, Fury looked beaten up. His face was a mess from a huge cut that sustained over his right eye. The cut hasn’t had much time to heal, and it’s very likely to break open immediately when Wilder lands his first right-hand bomb on it in round 1.
Lee’s dreams of Fury banging it out with Wilder could in disaster. It won’t be surprising if the training team becomes the scapegoat for his failures.
Fury will take trilogy fight against Wilder
“No one thought he’d take the Wilder fight in the first place, and nobody thought they’d get a rematch in February,” Lee continued on Fury. “I don’t see there being any problems. They both want it, and there’s plenty of money on the table.
So why not? Tyson says he doesn’t care about legacy and all that, but I’m sure he does,” said Lee about a trilogy match between Wilder and Fury being possible.
If the rematch this Saturday night is competitive, then that increases the chances we’ll see Wilder and Fury battle later in the year. The way Wilder is looking right now, Fury might not make it out of the first round. Fury isn’t foolish, and neither are his promoters at Top Rank. They’ll forget about Wilder, and likely focus on facing Anthony Joshua. The Joshua-Fury fight will still sell even with Fury coming off of a brutal knockout loss to Wilder.
