By Chris Williams: Deontay Wilder has NO regrets to his past comment about wanting a body on his record as he heads into his rematch with Tyson Fury. Wilder (42-0-1, 41 KOs) plans on getting his opponent Fury (29-0-1, 20 KOs) out of there as quickly as he can on Saturday night in their rematch on February 22 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Although it doesn’t sound politically correct for Wilder to be talking about the brutality of the sport and what potentially can happen in his fights, he’s not backing away from it one bit. It’s WAR for Wilder when he gets inside the ring, and he’s got a ‘take no prisoners’ approach to his fights.
Fury needs to be cognizant of the fact of the danger that Wilder presents to him. The American is viewed by some as the hardest puncher in the history of boxing. Only Fury and Bermane Stiverne were able to go the distance with Wilder, but it wasn’t easy for them. Stiverne fought Wilder when he had a broken right hand in their first fight in 2015. When Wilder was 100% healthy in their rematch, he dispatched Stiverne in
Wilder is batting a thousand in rematches
Given Wilder’s record for success in his rematches with his past opponents, it would be wise for Fury to keep his hands up at all times this Saturday. The last time they fought in 2018, Wilder took advantage of Fury’s low guard to knock him clean out in the 12th round.
If not for the referee Jack Reiss giving the unconscious Fury a count, he would have been another KO number on Wilder’s resume. To this day, it looks strange that Reiss gave Fury a count at all. Fury looked gone after Wilder poleaxed him in the 12th. For Reiss to be standing over an unconscious giving a count, it looked like a scene from another era.
“It’s a crazy feeling to have so much power. I tell people it’s like a blessing and a curse,” said Wilder to ESPN. “I don’t regret what I say because I mean what I say and I say what I mean,” said Wilder on his ‘I want to add a body to my record’ comment. “It wasn’t an ‘outside of the ring Deontay.’ I always have a passion and a feeling towards someone that does what I do, because we risk our lives for someone else’s entertainment,” said Wilder.
It’s the sad truth what Wilder says about fighters risking everything each time they step inside the ring, especially when they’re facing elite-level fighters. When you get to the level where Wilder and Fury are at, there’s risk involved in each fight.
Wilder says fans want to see knockouts
“Somebody wants to see somebody get their brains knocked out of their head, and how nasty that may seem and how cruel for a fighter to say what he wants to do, you’re getting up to go see it, so you’re just as guilty as the one that seen it,” said Wilder.
Deontay gives what they want in supplying them with a steady flow of knockouts. With the risks involved in each fight, it’s not surprising that Wilder wants to ‘get his opponents’ before they do him. It’s survival of the fittest in boxing, and that’s something that Wilder is well suited for.
Fury is an excellent boxer, but he can’t punch. His whole game is centered around him staying away from his opponent’s power shots, and to frustrate them with his boxing skills. While Fury does have a high percentage of knockouts on his resume, those were victories that came earlier in his career. The majority of Fury’s knockouts came against 2nd tier fighters with little talent.