In what turned into a rough night for the town of Tuscaloosa, Tyson Fury laid waste to Deontay Wilder after a dramatic round four that saw Wilder nearly close the show.
This fight beforehand seemed to be a bore where both men were doing the same song and dance, but when they stepped into the ring, it was as if both men had no prior knowledge of the other and went full boar at each other.
The first couple rounds, round one specifically, saw Wilder doing what his new trainer Malik Scott talked about all week, where he attacked the body with jabs and hooks. It was a masterful plan, as it was landing often, but it was a plan that Wilder abandoned as his old habits took over. For Fury, it seemed early on that he was having trouble getting going, but quickly he started leading with the jab that he is known for.
Fury’s jab sets up his whole attack, where Wilder puts his hand out there just for spacing purposes, Fury does that while also using that as a weapon. For Fury, he started to use it as a battering ram to break through Wilder’s defense which led to the knockdown in round three. Fury wobbled Wilder with a good straight right that came over the guard, a technique that has worked for Fury’s whole career, and it’s something that Wilder and his camp apparently didn’t address.
Wilder Unleashes the Bomb Squad
Deontay Wilder found early success with the jab but as mentioned round three was not good for him as he was knocked down but compared to the previous fight, Wilder got up and showed the world what he is made of next round.
Wilder went into round four looking wobbled, but then the unthinkable happened, where Wilder rocked Fury with a hooking combination and dropped him in the corner once and then twice. Wilder had Fury on defeat’s door twice in the round and was pressuring him to end the round, but couldn’t close things out.
Round five was a sort of calming round for both men, as they kept separate most of the time and worked jabs and clinched up when they did close the distance.
The Bomb Squad would make some flash appearances as rounds went on, but because he went to that well for almost everything, round four may have been the kiss of death for Deontay Wilder in the long haul.
Rinse and Repeat for Fury
The technique that was working for Fury in round three started to show itself as the route to victory the rest of the way. That ramming jab he put out to break guards followed up by the straight right over the top found its home time and time again, and round after round.
Rounds five through nine were likely scored for Tyson Fury because this simple, yet effective, technique for him that kept working. Wilder wasn’t making adjustments, he abandoned the bodywork, and on top of it all, Fury channeled his inner Klitschko Brother and made Wilder carry his weight.
By coming in at 277 pounds for Tyson Fury, it may have been a sticker shock number for fans who know of Fury’s weight issues in the past, was he out of shape? Was he not taking the fight seriously? All of those questions were answered when we saw the technique of making Wilder hold his weight in the clinch early and often start to pay off as the fight went on.
Wilder didn’t have his legs under him despite flashes from time to time and because of that it made Wilder a non-threat as the fight reached the later rounds.
Tyson Fury Calls It a Night for Wilder
It was discussed in Tyson Fury’s Ring Walk piece that Fury has overcome everything in boxing, but closing this chapter was big for him and his legacy. As a “young” heavyweight champion, Fury has a lot of fights ahead of him and as he showed in round 10 and ultimately round 11, Fury is the better man between these two.
Wilder is an elite fighter, but Fury just showed that he had the better gas tank and better technique. Maybe this advantage is due to the fact that Tyson Fury has been boxing since he was conceived by his parents, and for Wilder boxing became a job to earn money at a time he needed it most.
The technical difference between these two came to a head in round eleven, when Fury closed the show with an overhand right over the top. Wilder went down and wasn’t moving, but not from being out cold but because he had given it all in the ring. Fury had the bigger tank and his constant power shots just took everything from Deontay Wilder. With that Fury retained his WBC and lineal titles, and it sets up a bunch of fun matchups whereas it may be a crossroads matchup next for Wilder.
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Deontay Wilder clearly showed he has as much heart as any fighter on the planet, but it is time to take Tyson Fury very seriously in the pound-for-pound ranks, and with a couple more wins he enters a fun spot in heavyweight boxing history.
And of course, we did get another Tyson Fury concert because it isn’t a Fury fight without one.
#FuryWilder3 pic.twitter.com/ZRK9K1EQkU
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) October 10, 2021
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