Wilder’s cut inside left ear may have affected his equilibrium – Jay Deas

By Boxing News - 02/23/2020 - Comments

By Jeff Aronow: Trainer Jay Deas said after last Saturday’s rematch between WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury that Deontay had suffered a small cut inside his left ear during the bout. Despite it being a small cut, Deas believes that it possibly affected equilibrium during the fight.

Wilder had these problems that led to the fight being stopped:

  • Legs were gone
  • Not defending well
  • Power missing
  • Exhausted
  • Unable to stay off the ropes
  • Getting mauled by Fury
  • Added weight slowing him down

The cut was the least of Wilder’s problems against Fury. He was getting thrashed by the big 6’9″ British heavyweight, and taking a beating up until Wilder’s corner threw in the towel in the 7th.

Deas was more concerned with the fight being stopped by coach Mark Breland during the 7th. He says Wilder (42-0-1, 41 KOs) would never have wanted the fight to be stopped. Indeed, Deontay didn’t look at all happy with the fight being halted even though he wasn’t doing well.

Wilder might have been hoping that he could hang in there long enough for the 273 lb Fury to gas out. If that was the plan, it wouldn’t have worked. Wilder was getting hurt by Fury, and if Breland didn’t stop it, the referee Kenny Bayless would have.

Deontay had a small cut inside his left ear

“He had a small cut inside the left ear that may have affected his equilibrium, so he’s going to get a couple of stitches there. That’s really the extent of it,” Wilder’s lead trainer Jay Deas said in giving a status report on Deontay’s condition at the post-fight news conference last Saturday night.

“It was a tough, grueling fight, so coming from two fights in a row in November and February,” said Deas of Wilder’s fights against Fury and Luis Ortiz. “But this will give him some time to rest up a little bit, and then the next step.”

Wilder didn’t look as fast or as light on his feet for this fight than he had in his previous bout with Fury in 2018. He weighed 212 lbs for that fight, and seemed faster, and better equipped to fight hard. For the rematch with Fury, Wilder weighed in at 230 lbs and looked sluggish. This is how Wilder looked the last time he weighed around that weight for his fight against Eric Molina in 2015. Wilder looked slower and lacked the energy to blast Molina out quickly in that fight.

Deas disagrees with Breland’s decision to stop the fight

“I didn’t think he should have,” said Deas about the towel being thrown in by coach Mark Breland during the 7th round. “Deontay is the kind of guy that will tell you straight up, ‘Don’t throw the towel in.’

“In fact, in the dressing room when Tyson was getting his hands wrapped, in one of the earlier fights, they showed the fight on the screen in the locker room. They showed a guy that got stopped, and we were like, ‘Stop the fight, stop the fight,’ and right when the referee stopped the fight, the towel came in, and Tyson looked at his people and said, ‘NEVER,’ like that. And that’s the same kind of guy Deontay is.

“He does not want that,” said Deas of Wilder not wanting his fights stopped. “And you also have to consider also that Deontay is a fearsome puncher, and that’s always a difficult thing because he does always have a chance to land that big shot to turn things around.

“So that’s what happened there. Deontay is doing well, and he’ll be back and better for it. Congratulations to Tyson and his team. He’s a class act all the way around. We’re thrilled to be a part of the show with them,” said Deas.

Wilder’s legs looked gone in the 2nd round, and he wasn’t reacting well to the shots that Fury was hitting him with. Deontay might need to think about changing his training team.

Deas talks about Wilder’s training team

“I’m the head coach of the team, but we do things a little bit differently,” said Deas of him and coach Mark Breland. “99% of the time, the head coach of the team is also the lead guy who is in the corner. Ours is more like an American football team where the head coach doesn’t necessarily call the plays,” said Deas. “You have an offensive and defensive coordinator.

“So ours is a little bit like that. What happened in between rounds was during the round, Mark [Breland] said something about throwing the towel in. I said, ‘Don’t do that. I didn’t think he should do that,’ and then the fight went a little bit longer, and then I saw the towel go in,” said Deas.

“So I haven’t talked to Mark about it, but we’ll talk about it, and see what exactly happened there,” said Deas.

Besides the disagreement between the trainers on whether the fight should have been stopped in the 7th, Wilder doesn’t appear to be improving. He’s still the same guy more or less that turned pro in 2008, and he’s not getting better.

For Wilder to defeat Fury in the trilogy fight he’s going to need to make a lot of improvements in his game to make that happen.

Wilder will want Fury trilogy fight – Deas

I think absolutely, knowing him as I do, he’ll absolutely want a rematch,” said Deas about Wilder wanting a rematch. “These guys have put on two tremendous fights already, and I think the public will want it, and I think we’ll want it and they’ll [Fury’s promoters] will want it.

So it seems natural, so I think that’s what we’ll see happen,” said Deas on Wilder likely taking Fury rematch.

It’s obvious that Wilder is going to take the third fight with Fury. Deontay is probably already back in the gym training already, and trying to figure out what went wrong.

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