By Shaun Murphy-
If anyone thinks Tyson Fury’s last two fights was a reflection of anything apart from practice, they must be stupid. Fury is the kind of man that doesn’t show everything he has in his locker in every fight. The general assumption Wilder will blow Fury out easily on December 1st is based on a misguided view. A close look at his fights shows a man with a broad skill of assets which he spreads out in different fights.
Fury may have been out of the ring for over 2 years, but had been in training for 7 months before his first fight back. He did not look in the best of conditions in his two come back fights, but he can only possibly have been practicing. Most boxing experts have already given Wilder the win ahead of their world title clash, but there are more than a few reasons to believe Fury can beat Wilder next month. Hearing people write him off shows how little people know about boxing and boxers.
Boxers fight differently in different fights, depending on the boxer and their opponent. Fury has not been forced to show all of what he has in many of his fights to date. This is because most of his opponents have just not been able to handle the size and reach gap that generally comes with fighting a man just three inches shy of seven foot tall. Tyson Fury is big and strong, but not very powerful. Against Wilder, he will be in the best shape of his career. This fight could actually be a throw back to the glory days where we had two fighters with genuine pride and ambition really go for it in a world title fight.
Fury has already lost just over a stone since his last fight, making him in very fit condition over 3 weeks before the fight. He will have over two stone advantage over Wilder and will be fit at that weight advantage. At that size and with that reach in fit condition, the linear champion is also likely to be physically stronger than Wilder, but the American has more power. Power and strength are two different things. Strength has more to do with physical resistance, toughness, and energy. Power is more to do with speed plus body mass.
Wilder’s boxing technique is not good as Fury’s if we are to be Frank. His balance is terrible, and like Fury himself has said, the WBC champion has a limited variety of punches compared to Fury when he is really ready to go. There is always that chance of Wilder’s knock out punch putting Fury out, but not if Fury shuts down Wilder’s every move.
TOUGH
Fury is a gypsy and gypsy’s are known to be tough. The chances are becoming high that the Brit will come in at his lightest of either 17.8 stone or a bit lighter, meaning he will be physically fit at the same time more than 2 stones heavier than Wilder. At 6ft 9 inches, Wilder will have more of his work cut out trying to knock out a man of Fury’s size and determination. He may even knock Fury down, but keeping him down is a different thing altogether.
Fury has always got up on the two occasions he was floored in his career and Wilder being a bigger puncher doesn’t than those who knocked Fury down doesn’t mean he will land hard enough to drop Fury. Like Fury himself has said, not all Wilder’s punches knock out his opponents. The American will have to land again and again, weakening his opponent before destroying him. Fury has no plans to allow Wilder free attempts on his chin.
Fury is agile for a big man and physically stronger than he is given credit for. He lacks explosive power, but his opponents still feel the impact of his straight jabs and hooks whenever he throws them.
The impact of having more power depends on how a punch is landed, and what has been occurring up until that point. Fury has a wider array of boxing ability and has shown the stronger mental edge in the build up to this fight. A close look at interviews given by both boxers so far shows more confidence coming from Fury. If Fury outboxes Wilder for a good part of the fight, and Wilder struggles to land meaningful punches, Fury might be able to take the few that land clean and still be on his feet. Wilder is one of the biggest punchers in the division, but he also has poor balance.
That is not good news for a man who will be over two stone lighter than Fury, who is also two inches taller. This fight could is one of the biggest heavyweight fights in recent times, and could end up being one of the best. A high percentage of boxing is mental, and if Fury comes in as fit as I think he will, and full of self belief, Deontey Wilder may end up frustrated if that knockout punch doesn’t come and Fury is fighting at his best. Fury can box technically and also dig deep when necessary, so a lot depends how much he wants this.