By Charles Brun: Some people in boxing view Deontay Wilder as a mental wreck from his defeat to Tyson Fury last February. They think he’s not in the right frame of mind to be fighting him again this year.
Matthew Macklin is one of the people that think former WBC heavyweight champion Wilder (42-1-1, 41 KOs) is a broken man mentally. He believes that Deontay made a mistake by not agreeing to take the step aside deal so that he could use the time to get his confidence back by taking two or three easy fights.
Wilder could have made money from the step aside, and then still get the big payday in facing Fury for a trilogy match in 2021 or later. It would have worked out better or Wilder and Fury if Deontay had taken the step aside payment. One reason why it would have been in Wilder’s benefit delay the Fury third contest is the increased interest.
If Wilder beat two or three lower-level guys and looked great, then more boxing fans would be willing to pay to see him and Fury fight a third time on pay-per-view.
By going straight into the third Fury match in 2020, the PPV sales will likely be weaker than previously, as fans see the fight as a mismatch. People don’t Wilder any chance at all of beating Fury, aside from a puncher’s chance.
Macklin: Wilder is broken mentally
“I think he probably is [broken mentally],” said Matthew Macklin to IFL TV on Deontay Wilder. “He [Fury] took his soul away. He backed him up and busted him up; he manhandled him; he wrecked him on the inside and bullied him. He’s a beaten man,” Matthew said of Deontay.
“When the fight was over, he was beaten. There was no fight left in him. [Trainer] Mark Breland was spot on [in stopping it in round seven]. The fight had been knocked out of him [Wilder]. He was beaten,” said Macklin.
The silence from Wilder is a clear signal that he’s not mentally there for the third match with Fury. If Wilder is going to stay silent during the entire promotion for the trilogy match, he’s going to cripple it in terms of the marketing.
The organizers might need to step in and speak to Team Wilder to get someone to take charge of doing the trash-talking to motivate fans to want to purchase the fight.
Will Deontay improve from last time?
“Can he improve on that? I don’t know that he can,” said Matthew. “And I don’t think he can. I think he should have [stepped aside for Fury vs. Joshua to take place]. There was talk of step aside money, and [Kubrat] Pulev getting step aside money and going straight into a Joshua-Fury.
“I think Wilder should have done that because I think Wilder needs a few fights to get his confidence back before going back in with Fury. I think if he goes straight back in there with Fury, I’m expecting the same outcome as last time. It may be even worse,” said Macklin.
The chances are high that Wilder will be worse than last time when he faces Fury again because his confidence is gone. Additionally, Fury knows how to beat Wilder now by walking him down, and he’s not going to show him any respect.
If Fury comes into the third match with Wilder weighing in the 270s again, it’s going to be hard for him to handle his size. Wilder was heavier at 231 lbs for his rematch with Fury last February, and that extra weight didn’t help him.
But if Deontay goes back down to around 215-pounds, he’s going to be giving away approximately 55 pounds of weight to the 270+ lb Fury. That’s too many pounds.
Boxing great Jack Dempsey was able to deal with a massive size disparity in his fight against the goliath Jess Willard in July 1919, but Wilder doesn’t have Dempsey’s talent. If Deontay could fight like Dempsey, Fury would be in trouble against him, no matter how much weight he’d be giving away.
Wilder should have taken a step aside payment
“I think from a boxing point of view, that would have made a lot of sense,” said Macklin on Wilder taking a step aside fee, and then facing Fury later on for the same amount of money as he was previously going to get.
“That would give him [Deontay] a chance to have a fight, get a win under his belt, and maybe put some of those demons to bed a bit. Going straight back in there with Fury, for me, I just think that’s a business decision.
“I don’t think that’s a decision that’s based on what’s best from a boxing point of view. I’m expecting a very similar outcome as the last [Fury vs. Wilder] fight,” said Macklin.
If there was a step aside deal offered to Wilder, then he should have taken it. It doesn’t appear that there ever was an offer made for Wilder to step aside for money.
Perhaps if Wilder had agreed to step aside for free on the condition that he face Fury at a later date, then it could have happened. But from what Fury and promoter Bob Arum have said, they never considered paying Wilder to step aside.
Macklin is talking about a hypothetical situation in a make-believe world when he discusses the possibility of Wilder getting a step aside offer from Team Fury.
Deontay is in denial about what happened to him
“Possibly [pride for Wilder], but making all these excuses about the gloves and whatever, it’s a little bit like he’s in denial about what happened,” continued Macklin.
“And if you’re in denial about what happened, then you can’t improve on what happened because you’re not addressing it. You have to be truthful and honest about what happened if you’re to deal with it and improve on it.
“But if you’re blaming it on other things, then to me, you’re in denial about it,” said Macklin on his theory that Deontay is in denial about his loss to Fury.
Wilder, 34, probably knows that he was beaten by the better man last February. The only excuses that Deontay has given about the loss are these areas:
- Fury’s rabbit punching
- Ring-walk uniform weakening legs
- Didn’t feel right
- Balance went after third-round knockdown
It was Wilder’s brother Marsellos that brought up the gloves that Fury was wearing, and some of Deontay’s sympathetic fans bought into it.
Deontay likely knows that he was beaten fair and square by Fury, apart from the many rabbit punches he was hitting him with all night. The outcome would have been the same even if the referee had begun warning and penalizing Fury early on for his use of the illegal punches to the back of Wilder’s head.
Fury could face Dillian Whyte in 2020
Dillian Whyte could get his mandated title shot against WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury in 2020 if Wilder chooses not to take the fight. WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman told Sky Sports that the Fury-Whyte fight could happen this year if they reach an agreement.
The chances of Wilder deciding against taking the third fight with Fury are so slim that it’s ridiculous even to discuss such a scenario is happening. Wilder is getting too much money for the trilogy match with Fury for him to elect not to take it.
The only reason this is even a topic for discussion is reports of Wilder (42-1-1, 41 KOs) having a bicep injury, and now his brother Marsellos Wilder saying that Deontay has a dent on the left side of his skull from the Fury fight last February.
Also, Wilder has been very quiet since his seventh-round knockout loss to the ‘Gypsy King,’ and this has fueled speculation whether he’ll take the rematch.