Deontay WIlder
Deontay WIlder

Decoding Deontay: What needs to change for Wilder ahead of next Tyson Fury clash?


What needs to change for Deontay Wilder before he meets Tyson Fury again? Furyjoshua.com looks at the evidence.

With a third fight between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder now locked in for July 24 in Las Vegas, and after many months of bizarre radio silence, ‘Bombzquad’ is back.

The 35-year-old Alabama native (42-1-1) has vowed to begin rebuilding his legacy by taking Fury out when the pair meet at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Does he really have a legitimate shot at redemption? Or is this simply a man at the end of the line who is whistling in the dark?

Furyjoshua.com looks ahead to a pivotal night for ‘The Bronze Bomber’.


Wilder weaknesses

For much of his top-level career, and more so since that TKO loss to Fury, Wilder has been denigrated by some in the trade for a perceived lack of basic boxing fundamentals.

It is unclear what A.J. Liebling might make of Wilder’s style, but what’s not up for debate is the fact there are gaping holes in his game. For example, for a fighter who reigned for so long as WBC world heavyweight champion, he rarely threw a meaningful body shot.

Also, given he is known for his exceptional punching power, the American often seems to telegraph his punches and often had a ‘take two or three to land one’ mentality. He is not a fighter who uses feints or someone who tries to set traps for his opponent, but often just bowls forward looking to land his honey punch. He tends to load up, again and again, with the right hand.

As Fury himself said during one of the more bizarre heavyweight press conferences last week, "Wilder is a one-trick pony. What I’ll do this time, I'll run him over like I'm an 18-wheeler.”

The ‘Gypsy King’ has a point about Wilder’s lack of ring variety. He is not an elusive fighter in the Floyd Mayweather mould and his defence has always been his attack, leading many to cast him as one of the most one-dimensional heavyweight champions of recent times. He will keep stalking forward in a bid to land his right-hand equaliser, but showed against Fury (twice) and Luis Ortiz that he can be outsmarted and outboxed.

Is he big enough for the modern-day behemoths? For a 96kg fighter, Wilder’s legs have always looked painfully thin and he has been the lighter man in all 12 of his world heavyweight title tussles to date. In that second Fury fight, he was rag-dolled around the ring by a fighter who was not only technically superior, but looked far sturdier and stronger on the night.

Yet it could also be argued that Wilder’s fixation with ‘Yes men’ is just as worrying as any of his technical flaws. His long-term coach Jay Deas has pretty much been around since the start, but their close bond has been questioned by some with Deas seemingly unwilling, or perhaps unable, to correct Wilder’s technical shortcomings.

Team Wilder's treatment of former coach Mark Breland after that Fury defeat was borderline outrageous. Breland, the Olympic gold medallist and a former WBA world welterweight champion in his own right, parted company with the former heavyweight king last year amid accusations of supposed disloyalty. Breland was left to carry the can for throwing in the towel in that Fury return - but had he not, who knows what further damage Fury would have inflicted?

Teddy Atlas on Tyson Fury vs Deontay Wilder 3, Goes off on Bob Arum & Fury vs Joshua Falling Apart

Malik Scott is a new addition to the team, but already one has to question his judgement and ability to remain objective after the 40-year-old trainer recently made a bold comparison between his new client and the inimitable Muhammad Ali.

Wilder rarely helps himself when it comes to PR either. The American infamously once said he would like a “body” on his record. He’s been at it again in the build-up to this fight too, stating in a recent interview "My mentality is - you've been contemplating about hurting a person so bad, to the point you wanna disfigure him so his mother wouldn't even know who he was.

"You wanna decapitate him in every way, like premeditated stuff," said Wilder.

Such an attitude won’t endear him to the wider public and is unlikely to rattle Fury, a boxing braggadocio who rarely comes off second best to anyone during media obligations.

If there is no humility on the part of Wilder, no reflection about the part he himself actually played in losing his precious heavyweight crown and that cloak of invincibility back in 2020, then it’s difficult to see how there can be any redemption.

Wilder strengths

Setting aside those clear technical limitations, you have to take your hat off to Wilder, a late starter who picked up boxing at 20 but nevertheless medalled at the 2008 Olympics and then won and defended the WBC world heavyweight title 10 times in five years.

Wherever his career goes from here, history will remember him as one of the most explosive punchers the noble art has ever seen. Indeed, Fury himself recently called him “the most dangerous, concussive puncher in the history of the sport”.

Hyperbole is and always has been part of sports, but Fury has a point. The stats don’t lie. 44 fights. 42 wins. And 41 of those wins coming inside schedule, with plenty of spectacular one-bomb endings within the first four stanzas. Mike Tyson was seen as a wrecking ball in the 1980s, but many of his stoppage wins came courtesy of brutal combinations. Wilder has proven time and time again he can take a man out with just one shot.

Is there though, more to him than a ruinous right hand?

It actually could be argued the fact he is so unorthodox in terms of his punch output is a blessing as well as a curse. He throws unconventional, looping and at times simply outlandish shots. He has legitimate speed in his punches.

Wilder doesn’t throw punches the way purists might expect top-level fighters to throw them, but it works for him. These wild shots can be unsettling for opponents. He gets so much leverage on his punches, particularly the right hand, that he maximises that blow in terms of power.

For example, few who saw it will forget the shot he landed on Bermane Stiverne in their 2017 rematch. That crackling right hand went right through his opponent’s gloves and left Stiverne wearing a “What just happened?” expression.

Deontay Wilder KO Bermane Stiverne in Round 1 | SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING

Wilder also has a burning will to win. He made the Olympics with very little amateur experience and won a bronze in Beijing.

All great champions need confidence and heart and Wilder has both. He also keeps his focus in the heat of battle.

The perfect example of this was the first fight with Fury. It was coming down to the wire and he was clearly behind on points. However to score the knockdown he did in the final round pulled the result out of the fire for him and helped him hold onto his belts. Ditto his fights with Ortiz.

He didn’t sparkle in any of those contests but retained a steely focus and turned things around with his power.

What needs to change for Wilder?

Wilder, currently a 9/4 underdog with Sky Bet, is certainly not without hope in this trilogy bout.

He has changed up his training crew and we might see something different when they lock horns for a third time. Let’s have it right. A lot of us didn’t expect Fury to successfully change his style for the second fight against ‘The Bronze Bomber’ - and look how that turned out.

Looking at both fights against ‘The Gypsy King’, you would argue Wilder needs to box more when they collide for a third time. One would hope in these months of silence and solitude since his February 2020 annihilation he has been trying to improve his jab and his footwork, while also looking at Fury’s strengths and what went wrong last time out.

He could definitely give his opponent something else to ponder if he went to the body more too. Fury is heavy-set but not a sculpted Adonis and who knows how he would react to some heavy artillery to the body from the American? Those short hooks from both wings could do real damage downstairs.

While Wilder’s right hand is among the most feared shots in any division, his left hook is pretty lethal too and a shot he needs to utilise more in this fight. Most heavy-handed bangers possess power in both mitts and Wider is no exception.

If Wilder, Scott and Deas are wise, they will be preparing to shock Fury with big left hooks while the WBC and lineal world heavyweight champion is busy watching and waiting for that vaunted right.

Is revenge likely?

Fury knows Wilder's weaknesses. He knows that he has to push him back and get in his opponent’s face again. The big man from Morecambe is a warm order in the betting and the general consensus is he will go for the jugular once again, such was his dominance last time out.

He insists the fight won’t go past seven rounds - but if he is serious about bulking up to 300lbs that could prove a mistake and actually level the playing field. Fury’s movement seemed to trouble Wilder in both their previous fights.

If the Brit elects to simply stand in front of the American and do another demolition job in a firefight, then he could come unstuck. Any complacency from team Fury could be Wilder’s biggest ally in this fight.

Clearly it's going to be pretty difficult for Wilder to pull off a victory, but at the end of the day, he does possess a right hand which only needs to land once in the right spot and the heavyweight landscape changes again.

It’s possible rather than probable of course. But then this is heavyweight boxing. All it takes is a single punch.


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