Wilder v Fury II – A Draw To Settle!

Fight fans won’t have too long to wait with the 3^rd rematch of WBC Heavyweight Champion Wilder’s career in which he takes on Lineal Heavyweight Champion Tyson Fury on the 22^nd of February.

Unlike Wilder’s two previous rematches against Luis Ortiz and Bermane Stiverne which only reinforced the view that The Bronze Bomber is a devastating puncher, the highly anticipated  rematch with Fury should settle what was a controversial decision to declare their first fight a draw.

Fury left the Staples Center Arena in Los Angeles feeling that he had been robbed from a fairytale victory as in the eyes of many who watched the fight, he outboxed Wilder despite being knocked down in the 9^th and 12^th round.

Some had felt that referee Jack Reiss should have stopped the count in the 12^th round when Fury hit the canvas as up until the count of 5, he appeared motionless and had not looked like he would have any chance of beating the count.

However not only did The Gypsy King beat the count of 10, he also finished the fight strongly and vindicated Reiis’s decision to not stop the fight.

Wilder looked a dejected fighter at the end of the fight and made no attempt to convince the crowd that he had retained his title as he knew he had to knockout Fury.

Like everyone in the arena, The Bronze Bomber was stunned that Fury had recovered from his honey punch which apart from his first fight with Stiverne, nobody had survived 12 rounds with the knockout artist from Alabama.

Since the Fury fight, Wilder’s punching power has grown into legendary status with spectacular knockout wins over  Dominic Breazeale and  Luiz Ortiz.

Some respected analysts such as Teddy Atlas claiming that Wilder is the most destructive puncher that there has ever been in the history of the Heavyweight division.

However a big candidate for that title being  Former Two-time Heavyweight Champion George Foreman, doesn’t go along with Atlas’s opinion and believes that someone with punching power such as Mike Tyson should be looked upon in more higher esteem than The Bronze Bomber.

The lasting impression left on Foreman was the effect Tyson’s punches had on Trevor Berbick in which he was left resembling a stumbling drunk desperately trying to regain his balance when attempting to beat Referee Mills Lane’s count.

This performance from Tyson in a world title fight against the reigning Champion brought fear to a number of Heavyweights including Foreman who had just decided to embark on a comeback after a hiatus of 10 years.

The unbeaten Fury proved in the first fight that he can withstand the punching power of Wilder and  with new Trainer  Sugar Hill Steward on board replacing Ben Davison, he believes that the Nephew of the great Trainer Emmanuel Steward can help him land the power punches that will knockout Wilder in two rounds.

Perhaps Fury knocking out Wilder is far-fetched considering the fact that in the 42 fights that Wilder has had, he has yet to hit the canvas and has proved that he can weather the storm as he did in his first fight against Ortiz.

However the amount of top level opponents  Wilder has faced in his career is open to question compared to other illustrious champions.

Can Fury shock the world again by knocking out Wilder?   It would be foolish to write him off against The Bronze Bomber but the most likely manner of victory for Fury would be to win on points rather than aim to have a slugfest with Wilder as the odds would very much be in the favour of Wilder for a knockout win.