What we learned from Wilder vs. Fury II

Tyson Fury’s masterful performance against Deontay Wilder left the boxing world in a state of shock. In seven rounds, Fury destroyed the heavyweight division’s longest reigning champion in such a decisive manner that it will be talked about for years to come.

In the immediate aftermath of his devastating performance, let’s take a look at what we learned from the weekend.

Fury shined, Wilder bombed

Nobody was prepared for the shocking display of brain and brawn from Fury, who handled Wilder like a rag doll. From the very beginning, Fury stalked Wilder, pounded him with heavy shots, and brutalized him before the stoppage. Everyone knows there was a tremendous skill gap between them, but nobody thought Fury would bludgeon and bloody Wilder with such ease.

Wilder was hopelessly outclassed and looked stiff from the start. He endured the kind of beating that will haunt him for the rest of his career. A loss isn’t the end of the world, and plenty of fighters have recovered, but Wilder’s psyche and trust in his abilities may never be the same.

Wilder was way out of his league

It wasn’t too long ago that many felt Wilder’s fundamental deficiencies would doom him against a technically superior foe, and that is exactly what happened last weekend. Though Fury and Wilder bulked up to add strength, Fury used his size to bully Wilder. For all his power, Wilder had no answers for a man who showed no fear and couldn’t rely on anything else after he was effectively neutralized by Fury’s strategy.

Wilder’s corner should be chastised for letting him endure a horrific beating following the second knockdown. Bleeding from the ear and showing no signs of life, Wilder’s corner also showed its lack of preparedness and an inability to protect its fighter.

The reign of the once and future king begins

A third fight is entirely out of the picture for now, at least until Wilder can convince the public he is due a trilogy fight. 

Fury has his next few fights already laid out for him, as promoter Top Rank has plenty of heavyweights to keep him busy. Oscar Rivas, Jarrell Miller, and Dillian Whyte should all be on deck for Fury, and if the stars align as they did for the Wilder rematch, a unification with Anthony Joshua is within reach.

Wilder will have to go back to the drawing board but will only remain on the sideline for a short while. Once he heals up from the gruesome ear injury he suffered, he has plenty of worthy opponents to stage his comeback tour and silence any doubts of his legitimacy.

Within the next six months, Wilder should face the easy-to-hit Adam Kownacki and easily win, before a bout with Charles Martin at the end of the year. By 2021, Wilder will have a strong claim as the best heavyweight without a title.

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