Tyson Fury vs Deontay Wilder: Brit reveals plan to beat ‘biggest puncher in history’

Fury says he is very aware of his opponent's strengths but has a secret gameplan to beat him

Jack Watson
Monday 26 November 2018 12:45 GMT
Comments
Deontay Wilder in confident mood ahead of Tyson Fury showdown

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Tyson Fury has described Deontay Wilder as the ‘greatest puncher in history’ ahead of their 1 December WBC heavyweight title clash in Los Angeles.

Fury will look to win the one major title that has evaded his illustrious career, the WBC belt, in what is his biggest fight since beating Wladimir Klitschko before taking a break from the sport.

Like Fury, Wilder has a perfect professional record with 39 of his 40 wins coming by way of knockout, thus giving him the reputation of a powerful hard-hitting heavyweight to be feared.

“It is the biggest challenge of my career,” Fury told The Sunday Telegraph. “If I make one mistake, it’s over. It could be over, because he’s probably the biggest puncher in history. Definitely one of them.”

“I don’t remember seeing anyone else with 39 out of 40 knockouts. I’m a heavyweight historian and I don’t believe anyone has had that record. Wilder’s style is very unusual, but he’s very conventional in some ways. A lot of people make out he’s very wild, but he’s calm and only throws big bombs when he knows his opponent is in trouble. But I’ve got something up my sleeve.”

To stand any chance of winning, and potentially setup a unification shot against Anthony Joshua in April 2019, Fury is expected to use his reach to keep the powerful puncher at bay and grind him down to take the contest on points in a similar way he did against Klitschko in 2013.

Tyson Fury has a secret plan to beat his opponent
Tyson Fury has a secret plan to beat his opponent (Getty)

“I see something with Wilder. And I’m not going to tell anybody until I reveal it on the night. There’s a chink in that armour,” the self-titled ‘Gypsy King’ revealed.

“I’m going to take Wilder’s heart away. It’s going to be a more humiliating performance than it was against Klitschko. Everyone says I won’t do it against a big puncher. But I did it against Klitschko and I will against Wilder. I’m going to have fun. Wilder is going to have the most awkward night of his life, believe me.

“My movement and speed is enough to disarm anybody. My length is very underestimated. Wilder has never fought anybody bigger than him and he’s never had to punch up before. He’s never had to chase someone down who’s moving.

“With all power punchers, they’ve got to set their feet. He can’t land power punches on the move. He’s got to stand still and that’s something I don’t do. Don’t get me wrong – he’s a tough fight for anybody. People think it’ll be this big war, but it will be a chess match, cagey early on.”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in