Deontay Wilder has got a better than average chance of beating Tyson Fury in the trilogy match, according to Abner Mares and Shawn Porter. That two rate Wilder as having a 50-50 shot at dethroning WBC heavyweight champion Fury (30-0-1, 21 KOs) to take back his WBC title this October.
In order for Wilder (42-1-1, 41 KOs) to do that, he’s got to avoid some of the pitfalls from the first fight. Mora doesn’t want to see Wilder backing straight up with his head high in the air, which is what he did all night against Fury last February.
At the same time, Wilder can’t stay low because Fury will back of the head like he did throughout their previous fight. Mares wants Wilder to use his jab more, which could prove to be impossible. Wilder doesn’t have a good jab, and he rarely used it either of the first two fights with Fury.
Wilder has a lot of improvements to make in his game, and it’s going to take a lot of work to retool in time for the fight.
Wilder must be more aggressive
“The offense,” said Porter to PBC On Fox when asked what Wilder has to change for the third fight to beat Fury. The offense has to pick up [for Wilder]. He needs to get more in his arsenal. He needs a better jab, better combinations, and I think he needs to be more aggressive against Tyson Fury,” said Porter.
“It sounds like he needs a lot, but he really doesn’t,” said Abner Mares about Wilder in what he needs to beat Fury in the trilogy match. “Even Tyson Fury knows this. He has a puncher’s chance. That’s never going to go away.
“A little bit of adjustments with the jab, pushing Fury back. That sounds easier said than done, but I think he can make it. I think he can do that, and not pulled back so much with his head up in the sky. I think little adjustments like that gets him back in the fight,” said Mora.
Wilder has no choice but to be more aggressive against Fury in the third fight because he’s not going to last long backing up. Fury showed that he’s a much more dangerous fighter when he’s got Wilder backing up. Wilder will need to go after Fury and focus on taking his head off with every punch.
Fury’s chin is too good for Wilder to hit him with less than his best power. It’s not easy for Wilder to land his shots on Fury anyway, so he needs to put everything he ha into his shots to try and knock him out.
Wilder can win the third fight with Fury
“I’m going to go ahead and say it’s a 50-50 fight,” said Porter on the Fury vs. Wilder trilogy match. “The reason why I’m going to say it’s a 50-50 fight is because of what you just said.
“He doesn’t have to do much to change the outcome of the fight. I think he’s that kind of a fighter It’s easier said than done, but I think it can be done,” said Porter.
“I still believe it’s a 50-50 fight for the same reason,” said Mares on Fury vs. Wilder 3. “Wilder can’t be wild. He can’t try and be something he’s not.”
“That made him unpredictable, made guys uncomfortable, and got him the results he wanted,” said Porter.
For Wilder to change the outcome for the third fight with Fury, he’s got to change a lot of things. The changes that Porter wants for Wilder would take a lot of time for him to implement.
For example, Porter wants more offensive variety in 34-year-old Wilder’s game. While that may seem to be an easy thing to do, it’s not when you’ve got a fighter in his mid-30s.
Wilder never developed his left hand, and you can blame that on the coaching he got early on. If Wilder had a great trainer back during his amateur days, they would have already taught him how to use his left hand, and it would be a weapon by now.
The fact that Wilder only uses his right hand suggests that he didn’t have the right trainer to force him to develop his left. Coaches use different straighties to teach fighters how to use their left hands.
One way of doing this is to tie down their fight so that they’re forced to only use their left hand. It’s doubtful that Wilder ever had a trained do that.
Mora: Wilder made the right decision keeping Breland
“I think it was the smartest thing to do, I think he was going to get a lot of heat from it if he didn’t,” said Mares about Wilder deciding to keep trainer Mark Breland as part of his team.
“We all know that his coach was there for the person and the fighter Deontay Wilder. As he said, the cooler head is now calmer. He knew what he [Breland] did was right, so I think he made the right call,” said Mares.
“At this point, Mark Breland is the only guy in Deontay Wilder’s came that has a high amount of experience in the fight game in terms of coaching and in being in the ring himself,” said Porter on Breland. “So he understands all the ins and outs for Deontay Wilder, and I think he knew exactly what he was seeing that night.”
Although Wilder kept Breland as his cornerman, he reportedly has added two additional coaches to his team. With all the different trainer’s Wilder has, it’s hard to say who he’s actually following in terms of advice.
As the saying goes, ‘too many cooks spoil the broth.’ I come from a track background, and I can’t imagine having five or six coaches telling me different things.
If Wilder can figure out for himself what he did wrong against Fury, then he certainly isn’t going to improve with the addition of two new coaches. Wilder has been in boxing long enough to know that he made a lot of mistakes that Fury capitalized on.
Wilder’s mistakes
- Backing straight up
- Fighting off the ropes
- Not keeping his guard high
- Failing to throw jabs
- Staying stationary
- Not using the left hand
