After waiting over a full year, the rematch between heavyweight kings Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury is finally upon us. The first bout controversially ended in a draw and the two will square off once again this Sunday (AEDT) from MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas!
We have a full preview and betting tips for the headline fight for the WBC, The Ring and lineal heavyweight titles below.
Wilder vs Fury II Betting Tips
It seems like an eternity since the two went toe to toe back in December of 2018. On that night, Fury outboxed the American for the majority of the fight, before a round 12 knockdown for Wilder left the judges with a split decision draw.
Deontay Wilder
Since the original fight, Wilder has had two more bouts, facing off against American Dominic Breazeale and Cuban Luis Ortiz. The Bronze Bomber made short work of Breazeale in the first fight, knocking him out just two minutes into the first round to retain his WBC heavyweight title.
He had a bit tougher night against Ortiz in November, needing almost seven full rounds to knock the Cuban out, but eventually getting the job done with a vicious right hand.
The knockout of Ortiz took Wilder’s record to a ridiculous 42-0-1, with 41 of those wins coming via knockout. Just two men have went the distance with Wilder over his 43 fight professional career, Tyson Fury and Canadian Bermane Stiverne.
Tyson Fury
‘The Gypsy King’ has also had two fights since he faced Wilder back in 2018. Fury’s two opponents were nowhere near the level of Wilder’s, but he made it look pretty easy on both occasions. Fury defeated German Tom Schwartz via TKO in just the second round of their fight back in June of 2019, looking a class above his opponent from the opening bell until the ref stopped the fight.
Fury backed it up with another strong performance against Swede Otto Wallin in September. Although it took Fury a full 12 rounds, he outclassed his opponent and recorded a unanimous decision victory. The full 12 round bout could come as a massive benefit to Fury here, who would have viewed these two fights as the last two in his recovery after almost three years out of the sport.
Fury faced Wilder with just two fights under his belt last time around, and should be much more prepared both physically and mentally going into the rematch. One cause for concern, however, could be the choice to drop trainer Ben Davison, who had been with him since his return to the ring.
Prediction
If Tyson Fury is to win this fight, it likely won’t be via knockout. He will get the job done like he did in the first fight, outboxing his opponent for the majority of the rounds. This time around, however, he needs to avoid that inevitable big Wilder shot which could come at any time.
Fury was arguably a bit stiff not to get the win in the first fight, and looked the superior fighter for most of the night, which is why we think he will an even bigger chance this time around. By simply comparing photos from 2018 and now, we can see that Fury is in much better shape than he was when he was still on his comeback trail from a serious alcohol and drug addiction which saw him miss three years of fighting.
Wilder has made a living out of knocking out shorter men. The large majority of his opponents have been smaller, with a shorter reach than himself. Fury is certainly not that. The Gypsy King has the height, length and boxing prowess to defend Wilder’s style easily, and should be the better boxer on Sunday. Back him to get the job done.
