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Deontay Wilder is scheduled to face his biggest rival, Tyson Fury, for a third time on July 24, 2021, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada.
The second bout between Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury was regarded as the biggest heavyweight boxing match since June 2002's Lennox Lewis vs. Mike Tyson. Fury won the bout by utterly dominating his opponent before delivering the knockout blow in the seventh round.
Following the loss, Deontay Wilder initiated a contractual rematch clause in March 2020. Tyson Fury's team, however, decided to move away from their third fight with Wilder and started advancing towards a fight with Anthony Joshua.
After some back and forth regarding the expiry of the rematch clause, both Fury and Wilder's teams entered into a mediation process which would see a legally binding outcome decided by an arbitration judge. It was later announced that the judge had ruled in Deontay Wilder's favor and called for a third fight no later than September 2021.
During the process, Deontay Wilder made outlandish accusations of Tyson Fury cheating by putting stiff objects inside his gloves. 'The Bronze Bomber' also blamed his loss on the heavy costume that he wore while going into the fight for wearing him out.
The boxing community deemed Deontay Wilder's statements as lacking in character. Unsurprisingly, Wilder does not have the same level of support that he enjoyed in both his previous fights against Fury.
During the Fury vs. Wilder 3 pre-fight press conference, Deontay Wilder only spoke once and chose not to answer any questions from the media. This was seen as a lack of confidence and led many fans to think that Deontay Wilder will lose this fight.
However, some factors favor Deontay Wilder. One thing that could contribute to his victory is that Wilder has hired former opponent Malik Scott as his trainer for this fight.
Here are 3 reasons why Deontay Wilder can do the unthinkable and beat Tyson Fury in a trilogy fight:
3) Deontay Wilder can still end the fight at any moment with his knockout power
As the familiar refrain about the 'Bronze Bomber' goes:
“His opponent has to be perfect for twelve rounds; Wilder only needs to be perfect for a single moment.”
Deontay Wilder could arguably be the hardest hitter in the history of boxing. In the 44 professional boxing matches that he has had, he has won 41 out of them by knockout, 20 of which ended in the first round. This makes his knockout-to-wins percentage 98%, which is the third-highest in heavyweight boxing history.
The fact that a third fight between the two heavyweight boxers is even happening puts Tyson Fury at risk of getting knocked out by 'The Bronze Bomber' yet again. Deontay Wilder's knockout power is not something anyone can brush off, no matter how many times they face him.
Tyson Fury's father, John Fury, has similar concerns and shared his opinion in a recent interview.
2) Tyson Fury may lack focus
Before signing for this fight, 'The Gypsy King' and his team were focused on getting a match against Anthony Joshua. However, they were forced to fight 'The Bronze Bomber' due to contractual commitments.
Going into this fight, Tyson Fury may not fully be in the frame of mind for another fight with his former rival. His win in the rematch was widely seen as the end of the rivalry between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder. To make this more evident, in the pre-fight press conference Tyson Fury was highly dismissive and disdainful of his American opponent. He said:
"I gave me game plan away the first time because he (Deontay Wilder) wasn't good enough to do anything about it. And I'll do the same thing this time, because he's not good enough to do anything about it. Deontay Wilder is a one trick pony. He has got one punch power, great, we all know that. But, what I'm going to do to Deontay Wilder this time is I'm going to run him over as if I'm an 18-wheeler and he's a human being. And I guarantee ya, that he does not go past where he did before."
Fury's cornerman Ricky Hatton had some cautious words for 'The Gypsy King' in his Metro blog post. He urged Fury to focus more on the fight after seeing Deontay Wilder's training clips with Malik Scott.
1) Deontay Wilder is more focused than ever before
Premier Boxing caught Deontay Wilder in the only interview where he addressed his upcoming fight with Tyson Fury.
Besides the fact that he seemed too optimistic in this interview, Deontay Wilder also made some controversial statements. He said:
"‘My mind is very violent"
Wilder added:
"We built a whole facility to commit a legal homicide and that’s just what it is. My mind is very violent at this moment in time."
This is not the first time 'The Bronze Bomber' has made death threats against his opponents. Bermane Stiverne and Dominic Breazeale have been on the receiving end of Deontay Wilder's threats, and in both fights, he meant business. He won both bouts via first-round knockout.
Deontay Wilder was quiet for the most part at the Wilder vs. Fury 3 press conference. Several personalities in the boxing community and his opponent's team saw the American fighter's silence as an act of cowardice. However, what they are ignoring is that 'The Bronze Bomber' means business this time, and he intends to right his previous wrongs.
By being oblivious to what was being said during the press conference, Wilder could have negated Fury's expertise in getting into an opponent's mind.
The fact that the stare-down between the two fighters during this event went on for more than five minutes should prove how focused 'The Bronze Bomber' truly is. Although he was the first to blink or look away from his opponent, perhaps that's as much focus and intent as Deontay Wilder needs to find the opening against Tyson Fury and land the knockout blow.
