Tyson Fury vs Deontay Wilder III: After controversial draw and classic win, here comes the threepeat

Who is Deontay Wilder?

The feared puncher with the highest knockout to win percentage in all of boxing history who was scything through the heavyweight division? Or a one-trick pony in love with his own power who was knocking down tomato cans while collecting large paydays and a world title.

That’s the question that will be answered when the ‘Bronze Bomber’ Wilder (41-1-1) takes on his nemesis Tyson ‘Gypsy King’ Fury (30-0-1) on Sunday in Las Vegas.

The reason that question is up for debate is because we already know exactly who Fury is. A fighting man in every sense of the word. The man who, beyond all expectations from boxing pundits, befuddled heavyweight legend Wladimir Klitchko in 2015.

Who spent the next couple of years staring at his own personal abyss: drinking, depression and drugs before mounting an improbably and incredible comeback in 2018.

Fury, who had at one point ballooned to around 350 pounds at his nadir, took a couple of no-name tune-up fights and set his eyes on the prize: challenging the then undefeated Wilder and stealing a march on his countrymate Anthony Joshua (also undefeated at that moment).

Indeed, both Wilder and Joshua camps had flirted with making the superfight in 2018. But the usual boxing horse**** purse split, date and venue got in the way.

Not many gave Fury a chance. His own father predicted doom, telling Fury he wasn’t near ready and that Wilder would “hurt him”. Many boxing observers also reckoned that while Fury could outbox Wilder for the best part of the fight, it was only a matter of time before Wilder dropped Thor’s Hammer on Fury’s chin. And then it would be night-night.

Which is almost exactly how the first fight played out. Fury playing stick and move for most of the fight. His herky-jerky style giving Wilder fights and making the ‘Bronze Bomber’ repeatedly and wildly miss with his money punch.

Then, it happened. Wilder dropped Fury twice. The first, in round 9, was more of a grazing punch. Fury looked sheepish, almost embarrassed. But the second time, in round 12, was different. That was a perfect right-left combination from the boxing gods. And down went Fury.

Everyone thought it was over. The commentators. The fans at ringside. Those of us watching at home. Twitter went bananas. Wilder, in the far corner, was already doing a victory dance. Blowing kisses to the audience. Then, Fury rose. And with him, the countless Undertaker memes on social media.

Wilder couldn’t believe his eyes. Nor could he land a clean shot on Fury for the rest of the round. By the time the bell sounded, it was Fury who was punishing Wilder with right hands.

The decision, a draw, was lustily booed by fans at ringside. And those in the know, well, knew. The money was in the rematch between Wilder and Fury. And boxing, almost without fail, follows the money.

The rematch was no contest at all. Prior to the fight, Fury announced his intention to go on the offensive. To do the unthinkable. Knock Wilder out. Bully the bully. Punch with a puncher. Wilder didn’t believe him. The pundits didn’t believe him. The fans didn’t believe him. Only Fury, who brought in Kronk Gym’s SugarHill Steward as his trainer and came in the heaviest weight of his career, believed.

Fury’s performance, on that night, was near flawless. Like Muhammad Ali in Zaire against the big-punching George Foreman, Fury charged at Wilder when the opening bell sounded. And proceeded to do exactly what he said he would.

The American could scarcely believe it. He looked dazed. Perplexed. His best punches, when he rarely seemed to land them, had no impact. Fury had, in the run-up to the fight, announced that he “wanted to taste blood”. And, after busting Wilder’s ear, flicked his tongue out and actually did. He hurt Wilder repeatedly and sent him to the canvas multiple times.

Only the intervention of Wilder’s trainer Mark Breland, a former world champion boxer and Golden Gloves winner, saved the American from a sustained and savage beating. The likes of which could have had life-changing ramifications.

Wilder should have thanked Breland, ideally with a hug and a cartoonishly large sack of money. Not only had he preserved his fighter’s health – in a refreshing change from far too tough corners willing to their fighters die in the ring – he even secured Wilder another six-figure payday against Fury.

Instead, Wilder turned on Breland. Calling him a “weak individual” and claiming, without any evidence, that Breland was part of some conspiracy to take away his title. Since his defeat, Wilder has continued to spout conspiracy theories: the gloves were loaded, the referee was biased, the water was poisoned, blah blah blah. The only thing that’s left for him to blame the boxing media and declare his stoppage loss in the second fight as ‘fake news’.

Wilder is hardly the first big puncher to cling to such excuses in the aftermath of crushing defeat. Former light heavyweight champion Sergey ‘Krusher’ Kovalev, twice defeated by the smaller Andre Ward, pulled out some familiar tropes: biased judges, low blows and the good old poisoned water. To be fair to Kovalev, he was harshly treated by the judges in the first Ward fight which most ringside observers either scored in his favour or called it a draw (there’s boxing’s inclination to follow the money again).

https://twitter.com/mikecoppinger/status/1197275832848277505?lang=en

Mike Tyson, whom the British Fury is named after, similarly blamed ‘repeated headbutts’ by Evander Holyfield for his shambolic performance in what has become known as the Bite Fight. Tyson simply could not accept that ‘The Real Deal’ Holyfield had his number in the ring.

Foreman himself, for many years, continued to claim that his water had been tampered with in the Ali fight. It took him more than a decade of soul-searching to accept the truth: that he’d simply been beaten, on that night, by the better man.

Wilder is a puncher by birth. A puncher at heart. In his heart, he believes that all he needs to do is land his best weapon, that big right hand, on Fury. And that’s enough. It should be enough. But it hasn’t been. Not over the past 19 rounds with the Brit.

Wilder has hired Malik Scott, a man whom he previously beat, and who has been a friend for years, to run his camp. Smoothen out the rough edges. Scott can’t do the impossible. He can’t turn a 35-year-old Wilder into a two-fisted banger.

Short of getting Wilder to actually commit to his jab and adding a couple of wrinkles to try to disguise the delivery of his right hand, there isn’t much Scott can actually do. But for Wilder, maybe having a friend in the corner – someone he trusts – is more a psychological benefit than a tactical boost. Fury has said this is a make-or-break fight for Wilder. He may be more correct in that assessment than even Wilder knows.

So, how does the fight play out?

You can’t pick against Tyson Fury. Not after he does exactly what he said he will in fight after fight.

Well, you can. The great Teddy Atlas, fresh off picking Oleksandr Usyk to dethrone Joshua, just picked Wilder to beat Fury.

Perhaps he sees something the rest of us don’t.  Perhaps Fury is distracted. Disappointed in having to face Wilder, whom he handily beat in the first fight and utterly dismantled in fight two, rather than Joshua for a cool $100 million in Saudi Arabia.

Perhaps Wilder is right. Theoretically, all it takes is for Fury to slip up once. One distraction. One false move. One moment. But I don’t think so.

I think this isn’t round 1 of the third fight, but round 8 of the second fight. That Wilder opens up the fight going for broke, but Fury picks up right where he left off. After a couple of rounds of letting Wilder shoot his best shot, Fury begins to pick Wilder apart with head and body shots.

Back Fury to break Wilder down physically and mentally.

Prediction: Fury TKOs Wilder in Round 7.