You can add James “Buddy” McGirt to the seemingly ever-growing list of names willing to help train Deontay Wilder in a bid for revenge against Tyson Fury. George Foreman, Greg Haugen and even Floyd Mayweather (Jnr, not Snr) have offered their services, and now the trainer of champions and former champ in his own right has offered to help Wilder.
Speaking with Sky Sports, McGirt – who was superb in bringing back the likes of Arturo Gatti and, more recently, Sergey Kovalev – said he feels Wilder can beat Fury, but not necessarily by KO.
“Of course. He just needs minor adjustments, nothing major,” McGirt said of the former WBC heavyweight champ. “Everybody is making a big thing like he has to make these big, major changes. No, just little minor things. What he has been doing has been working for him so far. I think he got away from a lot of basic stuff. I’m not going to say too much wrong.
“I just want to say, relying on the power too much. You’ve got to set it up. Some people will give it to you to knock them out, some people you’ve got to set them up. It’s called the overlay for the underplay. I just think he has the potential to beat him (Fury). I don’t want to say knockout, but I believe he has the potential to beat him.”
As respected and as accomplished and knowledgeable as McGirt is, a good number of fans feel Wilder needs more than just “minor adjustments” to beat Fury. In fact, some fans, call them critics if you like, say Wilder needs a totally new approach if he’s to beat Fury. Clearly what Wilder brought on February 22 was no way near enough to accomplish the task. Maybe McGirt is right, and Wilder can tighten up certain things and get the win.
But not by KO? It’s tough to imagine Wilder, a fighter who has built up his entire persona, his image, his reputation, as a monster power-puncher NOT going for the KO in any fight. What price a Wilder decision win in the third fight with Fury? Would you bet on such an outcome? Again, maybe McGirt, a truly great trainer, sees things we will never see. But right now, it’s almost impossible to picture a Wilder win over Fury. That really was a beat-down last month, as we all know.