Keith Thurman sees Deontay Wilder improving for Tyson Fury trilogy

By Boxing News - 08/23/2021 - Comments

By Charles Brun: Keith Thurman says he likes what he’s seeing from Deontay Wilder in his workouts as he prepares for his October 9th fight with Tyson Fury at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Thurman likes how former WBC heavyweight champion Wilder (42-1-1, 41 KOs) is throwing combinations in his pad-work with trainer Malik Scott, and he views this as a huge improvement from single right-handed shots that he’d been accustomed to throwing during the whole of his 13-year professional career.

Thurman impressed with Deontay’s pad-work

“We saw him bench the thing that messed him up. That just shows you,” said Keith Thurman to Behind The Gloves on Deontay, being messed up by wearing his heavy ring-walk costume the last time he fought Fury in 2020.

Image: Keith Thurman sees Deontay Wilder improving for Tyson Fury trilogy

“Honestly, please don’t put it back on. Don’t show us you’re strong enough to wear it and when. Drop it. Just keep it on the bench snd drop it, but don’t bring it into the ring,” said Thurman on not wanting Wilder to wear his legs again walking to the ring.

“I think his [Wilder] mindset is right. I like the way I saw some pad work,” Thurman continued. “He’s trying to close the gap on the weaknesses, right?

“Everybody has weaknesses, but it takes a special fighter to acknowledge their own weaknesses, go back in the camp and tighten up on them.

“It’s not that Deontay is going to be a perfect fighter overnight, but you can tighten up. You fail a test in high school, you study a little harder, and you get a better grade. That’s what it comes down to, and I look forward to his performance.

“I always loved the ‘Bronze Bomber,’ I’ve supported him his whole career, and I’m always in his corner. Red, white, and blue, America, baby. Bring that belt home,” said Thurman.

The pad-work for Wilder may not mean anything unless he’s able to throw combinations and deal all the holding Fury will be using. In their rematch last year, Fury was grabbing Wilderall night and leaning on him with all of his weight.

Wilder let Fury hold nonstop

For some reason, Wilder wasn’t throwing punches while he was being held. You don’t do that with Fury.

When Fury elects to hold, you got to hit him in the body to get him to let go. Wilder wasn’t doing that, so Fury held and clubbed him with rabbit shots until the end came in the seventh.

Wilder throwing combinations

The combinations,” said Thurman when asked what he sees different about Wilder that has boxing fans, saying he looks different in his pad workouts. “He WAS a right-hand dominant fighter.

“I tell young fighters all the time. Winky Wright was a champion with a jab. Paulie [Malignaggi] did a lot with his jab. He also did the movement, and speed was a factor. Some fighters have speed, and some fighters have power.

“Tito Trinidad, I was never impressed with Trinidad. He was just a solid guy. He kind of reminds me of Canelo, but Canelo had way more power. But Tito, I thought, was very basic. Sometimes people take that basic approach to the maximum. Do you know what I’m saying?

“They take that basic approach to the max, and that’s what makes them so accomplished. So, it’s okay to have this one dimension as your greatest dimension, right? But what else can you bring into the ring?

“We see more,” said Thurman about Deontay. “Will he do more? It looks like he’s trying to do more, which normally manifests more, right?

“He’s all into the, ‘Believe it, say it, speak it, do it.’ Do you know what I mean? Do it, baby. Let’s see it,” said Thurman of Wilder.

If Wilder has any hopes of winning this trilogy match, he must do the following things:

  • Throw combinations
  • Continue throwing punches during the clinches
  • Deal with Fury’s rabbit punching

Jared Anderson created blueprint to beat Fury

Wilder and his trainer Malik may have taken a page out of the blueprint that Jared Anderson is rumored to have used to have beaten the stuffing out of Fury during training camp for the previously scheduled July 24th fight.

The young 21-year-old Jared (9-0, 9 KOs) is a combination puncher, who doesn’t stop throwing punches even when he’s in close. He continues to unload on his opponents until the referee pulls him away.

In Wilder’s two fights he’s had with Fury, the mistake that he made was only throwing single right hands, which would often miss due to the slick head movement from ‘The Gypsy King.’

Once Wilder would miss with a long single right hand, the bear-like 270+ lb Fury would take advantage of his 40+ lb weight advantage and club Deonty unmercifully in close with short punches.

Fury couldn’t use that same approach with Jared Anderson because he’s a combination puncher and he didn’t care if he missed one shot. Anderson would keep throwing punches repeatedly, and not let up on Fury when he was in close.

That’s a style that Fury can’t beat because the whole defensive side of his game is to make his opponents miss with their single shots, and then club/maul them in close with his size advantage.

Obviously, Fury couldn’t do that with Jared, who likely beat the living daylights out of him in close. To defeat Fury, you only need to throw nonstop combinations and don’t stop throwing when you’re in close.

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