WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder’s much anticipated rematch with Tyson Fury has been announced to take place on February 22nd at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Wilder (42-0-1, 40 KOs) will have to make some serious adjustments if he is to prevail, as Fury (29-0-1, 20 KOs) will be free from ring rust this time around and has the tools to out-box Wilder to a comfortable unanimous points win.
Boxing New 24 reports that Wilder lost every round last time out against Luis ‘King Kong’ Ortiz (31-2, 26 KOs) on November 23 on Fox Sports PPV, and looked poor. Deontay cannot show up with the same game plan against Fury and rely solely on one punch.
Wilder does have his powerful right hand, but he failed to knock Fury out last time, and will need to add more to his repertoire this time out and not just rely on that.
The pressure on Wilder will be huge as the calls to fight IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua (23-1, 21 KOs) will be massive should he beat Fury somehow. There will be no passes on going back to fighting the calibre of opponents he has made the majority of his defences against in the past.
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The general consensus is that now is the time for Wilder to step up and take the big fights to cement his legacy.
Fury has teamed up with trainer Sugarhill Steward, and they are currently devising a strategy to KO Wilder and as shown in the last round of their first fight Fury can buzz Wilder after taking his best shots.
Wilder has been with trainer Jay Deas from the beginning and it is unclear if Deas has the tactical nous or know how to put together a plan to beat a fighter like Fury given how Wilder performed in the first fight and against Ortiz.
One thing is for sure, Wilder cannot afford to perform like he did against a fired up prime Fury like he did against Ortiz.
“There’s no more ducking and diving,” said Fury. “The date has been set, and the ‘Bomb Squad’ is about to be securely detonated and the real champion crowned as the world watches on for the most anticipated fight in years. This is unfinished business for me, but come February 22, this dosser will finally get what’s coming to him, and I can’t wait!”
