Tyson Fury vs. Deontay Wilder Fight Preview, Prediction and Picks
Tyson Fury vs. Deontay Wilder Fight Preview, Prediction and Picks
On Saturday, October 9 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, the long-awaited trilogy between WBC heavyweight champion, Tyson Fury, and Deontay Wilder finally takes place.
Back in December of 2018, they met for the first time at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. At that point, Wilder was a fighter with great momentum as he was coming off a thrilling 10th round stoppage of the respected Luis Ortiz, in what was one of the better back-and-forth heavyweight slugfests in recent memory.
It was part of Wilder's five-year reign as the WBC heavyweight belt-holder, where he eventually made 10 defenses of his title.
Fury was a bit of a wild card at that stage as he was coming off victories over the likes of Sefer Seferi (KO4) and Francesco Pianeta(W10) in what could be best described as tune-up bouts as he returned after a two-and-a-half-year layoff. In the fall of 2015 Fury out-boxed long-reigning heavyweight champion, Wladimir Klitschko over 12 rounds and then proceeded to fall into a personal abyss that kept him sidelined.
The latest Fury vs. Wilder odds for Saturday's fight
But as they met, Fury didn't show any signs of ring rust, and for long stretches, he befuddled the hard-punching Wilder with his deft boxing skills, which were keyed by his quick jab and ring generalship. Most observers believed that Fury controlled the majority of the rounds. But it was 'the Bronze Bomber' who scored knockdowns in rounds 9 and 12 to salvage a debated draw.
The rematch took place in February of 2020, and coming into that second installment, Fury promised that he would not only be the aggressor against Wilder, but he would score an early knockout. Conventional wisdom had people thinking that the often-mischievous Fury was just playing games with the public and his opponent. But coming in at an eye-opening 273 pounds (as opposed to the 256.5 for their first match-up), Fury played the role of the bully and dominated the second chapter of this rivalry.
He stood his ground more, and in the third round completely changed the tenor of this fight by sending Wilder to the canvas with a looping overhand right. The boxer had become the puncher in this contest. And Fury dominated the rest of the way, flooring Wilder again in the two rounds later with a body shot. In the seventh frame, as Fury was hitting Wilder with a flurry of clean shots, the towel was thrown in by Wilder's corner.
In the aftermath of his first professional defeat, Wilder had a cadre of excuses and conspiracy theories. But the reality is that from the opening bell of this rematch, he was simply ill-equipped to deal with the size and overall skills of 'the Gypsy King'.
Tyson Fury vs. Deontay Wilder Prediction
If you look at the scope of their first two fights, over 19 total rounds, it's Fury who has won the large majority of them and has scored as many knockdowns as the explosive Wilder. One variable to consider is that neither boxer has performed since their second encounter, so both might be a tad hesitant in the early rounds as they get their feet wet. But while Wilder will still certainly be dangerous because of his vaunted power, it's not anything that Fury has seen -- or handled -- before. The big question is just how much of a difference does Wilder's new trainer, Malik Scott, make? But the call here is for Fury to once again navigate his way around Wilder's power, and score a decision victory.
Pick: Fury by decision @ +275
Article Author
Steve hosted 'the Main Event' on KIEV 870, and then later XTRA AM1150 from 1996 to 1999. From 2014 to 2018, he was the lead columnist for UCNLive and was a boxing reporter for ESPN from 2018 to 2020. He has written for Ring Magazine, International Boxing Digest, and Boxing News. Steve is also the co-host of 'the 3 Knockdown Rule' with Mario Lopez, which has become of the most popular boxing podcasts over the past several years.