Peter Fury: ‘Tyson needs to ROUGH-UP Wilder, and sap his energy’

By Boxing News - 02/05/2020 - Comments

By Charles Brun: Tyson Fury’s old trainer Peter Fury says he wants him to use his big size and weight advantage over Deontay Wilder to rough him up, and “sap the energy” from him in their second fight on the 22nd of February.

Peter thinks that Fury (29-0-1, 20 KOs) should have capitalized on his 44-pound weight advantage over the 212 lb WBC heavyweight champion Wilder (42-0-1, 41 KOs) in their first bout in December 2018 to tire him out in the second half of the fight.

Tyson didn’t use his size against Wilder last time

Fury, 6’9″, didn’t attempt to use his weight against Wilder. Instead, Fury moved a lot, threw jabs, and used a lot of feints to throw Wilder off. Not surprisingly, it was Fury who ended up being sapped of his energy in the later rounds instead of Wilder.

Tyson didn’t smother his last opponent Otto Wallin by brawling with him in close at times, but he wasn’t consistent enough in doing that. Against Wilder, Fury would need to smother him at all times for it to be effective. The first chance that Wilder gets for some daylight, he’ll nail Fury with a huge right hand.

Fury, 31, changed trainers from Ben Davison to Sugarhill Steward recently, and he’s supposed to be working on his power game. Sugarhill isn’t known for teaching his fighters to rough up opponents, so he might not use the game plan that Peter would like to see Fury utilize against Deontay.

Tyson needs to rough Wilder up says Peter Fury

“If Wilder comes into it at the same weight as his last fight, I think that’s a big advantage for Tyson, with Wilder coming in underweight for that fight,” said Peter Fury to Sky Sports Boxing. “And I think that if he [Fury] can keep out of trouble early, and more or less roughhouse Wilder.

“You know, get in close, rough him up, and take him out of his stride rather than give him the leverage to put his power in,” said Peter in saying what he would like to see Fury do against Wilder. “That would be my advice. So if he is going to take it to him, he’s got to take it to him cleverly, and not just walk in,” said Peter about Fury needing to be smart in attacking Wilder.

“Like I said, he needs to ROUGH Wilder up, and take him into a bit of a dog fight, I think,” continued Peter on the fight strategy for Tyson. “He heeds to sap his energy, especially in the second half of the fight.”

Fury might be too vulnerable to getting hit hard if he tries to rough Wilder up inside. The problem with that approach is it tires both fighters out, not just one. If Wilder has the better cardiovascular systems, he’ll still be the stronger guy, and he’ll eventually catch Fury with a big shot when he fades.

A lot of the power that the 6’7″ Wilder generates is from his frame. It’s not muscle power. His frame is what helps Wilder generate so much punching power. Peter’s idea of tiring Wilder out with mauling on the inside might not do the trick. It could lead Fury open to getting hit hard when he’s walking forward looking to hold and maul.

Fury has got to use his size against Deontay

“He’s [Fury] got to use his size, he’s got to use his weight, and like I said, especially if Wilder is coming in at roughly the same weight as he was,” said Peter. “You’re looking at a 2 to 2/12 stone advantage there. He needs to use that, and that’s where he went wrong in his last fight for me.

“He was doing the same thing round after round, but after the 6th round he should have just turned his advantages to that,” said Peter in expressing disappointment at Fury not using his 44-lb weight advantage over Wilder. “I just think that if it’s ugly or whatever it is, I think he’ll just sap the energy out of Wilder,” said Peter.

If this was wrestling, then using size against Wilder might work. It’s going to be hard for Fury to grab Wilder, and hold and lean on him for 12 rounds to tire him out. Luis Ortiz was knocked out at close range by Wilder in their first fight. That fight showed that Wilder can punch even at close range.

It might work for Fury to try and win ugly the way Peter wants him to, but it’s doubtul he’ll try and do that. Fury has never fought like that for an entire fight, and I don’t think he would be dedicated enough to stick to that game plan. As soon as Fury gives Wilder some space, he’s going to bounce something off of his chin.

Peter believes that Wilder needs leverage for him to generate power, but that’s not quite accurate. When Wilder is windmilling on his opponents, he’s not throwing shots from long range. He’s fairly close to his opponents when he unloads on them in that manner.

Peter wants Fury to fight Joshua next if he beats Wilder

“I think everybody is beatable. Tyson is beatable. They’re all beatable; Deontay Wilder, [Anthony] Joshua,” said Peter. “Everyone is beatable. It’s a hit and miss. I think it’s the heavyweight boxing game.

“I think this is a very good fight for him against Wilder,” said Peter when asked who he wants to see Fury fight. “You know, if he gets through Wilder, the sky’s the limit. The next would be Joshua, I assume,” said Peter Fury.

Fury vs. Joshua is the fight that a lot of boxing fans want to see, but both guys need to get through their preliminary matches to make that possible. In Fury’s case, he probably will need to beat Wilder TWICE in 2020 before he can fight Joshua in 2021. Wilder and Fury are under contract for 2 fights in 2020, and that’s what we are probably going to see. In the meantime, Joshua needs to beat Kubrat Pulev, and then Oleksandr Usyk. That won’t be easy for Joshua to do.