Deontay Wilder vs Tyson Fury II main event preview

Photo by JOHN GURZINSKI/AFP via Getty Images

KO artist Deontay Wilder and lineal heavyweight champion Tyson Fury rematch each other in the biggest heavyweight fight of the year.

Tyson Fury (29-0-1, 20 KOs) and Deontay Wilder (42-0-1, 41 KOs) are facing each other this week end in a rematch of their dramatic 2018 encounter. The first fight ended in a controversial draw after Fury outboxed Wilder for the vast majority of the fight but was sent to the canvas in rounds 9 and once again in the twelfth, but miraculously rose up and made it to the final bell and what should have been a decision win.

Since their first fight, Fury easily beat Tom Schwarz but had to survive a nasty cut that required 47 stitches to beat Otto Wallin. Wilder scored two nasty KOs in 2019, stopping Dominic Breazeale in one and looking better in a seventh-round KO over Luis Ortiz than he had in their first fight.

Wilder is still no one’s idea of a technical marvel but he’s improved over his reign as WBC champion. His right hand is straighter than it used to be and he’s shown a patience and confidence in his ability to land it that has allowed him to carry his power late in fights and to be a constant danger to any heavyweight on earth. Fury isn’t a particularly hard puncher by heavyweight standards but he possesses an agility belying his physique. Fury did very well slipping the jab in the first fight, which neutralized Wilder’s right hand as he utilizes the jab as his main set up for his right hand. This was a big part of why Wilder couldn’t get to Fury until the late rounds, once his legs has gone a bit and he managed to get him on the ropes.

The general dynamic of the fight is unlikely to change much, Wilder is gonna be losing rounds and have to wait for his moment. A big adjustment he could make is to go to the body early and often because headhunting is unlikely to yield results early in the fight and he needs to cut off Fury’s legs as soon as possible to make the second half of the fight more competitive than it was in the first fight and maximize his opportunities to hurt Fury. Whether he’ll do so despite not having shown a proclivity for it in over 40 fights is doubtful but even if he doesn’t, he’ll still likely get to land a couple of bombs at some point and when you can punch like he does, that still gives you pretty good odds.

For Fury there is not much reason to change what should have worked the first time apart from maybe being quicker to tie up on the inside once his legs start to fade because he was caught twice trying to duck once Wilder managed to break the distance.

The fight is unlikely to turn into a brawl but the style match up should make for another tense and intriguing fight. I’ll go with Fury to replicate the first fight and, hopefully for him, getting the decision this time.

Wilder vs Fury II airs on PPV Saturday, February 22nd at 9:00pm ET / 6:00pm PT

Full card:

Main Card – PPV (ESPN+/FOX) – 9:00pm ET / 6:00pm PT

Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury 2

Charles Martin vs. Gerald Washington

Emanuel Navarrete vs. Jeo Santisima

Sebastian Fundora vs. Daniel Lewis

Preliminary Card – FS1 / ESPN – 7:30pm ET / 4:30pm PT

Amir Imam vs. Javier Molina

Petros Ananyan vs. Subriel Matias

Preliminary Card – FOX Sports App/ESPN App – 5:00pm ET / 2:00pm PT

Isaac Lowe vs. Alberto Guevara

Gabriel Flores Jr. vs. Matt Conway

Arturs Ahmetovs vs. Rolando Romero

Vito Mielnicki Jr. vs. Corey Champion