Freddie Roach And Naazim Richardson Speak On Wilder Vs. Fury: A Classic Boxer Vs. Puncher Showdown

By James Slater - 11/27/2018 - Comments

Not long to go now until the heavyweight fight of the year, in fact one of the most intriguing, tough to pick world heavyweight title fights in some years. Deontay Wilder, the WBC heavyweight champ, against Tyson Fury, the lineal heavyweight king. So who wins on Saturday night in Los Angeles? Everyone in the entire boxing world has an opinion on this fight – some worth listening to, others not.

As far as opinions that are very much worth hearing go, a wise and knowledgable boxing trainer fits the bill. Two fine trainers who have slightly differing takes on Wilder-Fury are Freddie Roach and Naazim Richardson. Both men of course fully agree that this fight is Boxer Vs. Puncher, but they have a slightly different opinion on which may emerge victorious.

Naazim, in speaking with FightHype, said the following:

“I just say Fury. He looked phenomenal, man ….even his skin tone looked bright. I can see him winning every round until Wilder cracks him. Whoever wins this fight is the biggest, baddest big man in boxing right now.”

And this is the big question: will Wilder crack Fury? Will the KO King be able to find the elusive boxer? At some point in the fight, yes, one feels Wilder will land and land big – but if not, the boxer wins all the way.

Freddie Roach spoke with Mail Online, and the ace trainer who will actually be in Fury’s corner on Saturday (officially working as cuts man but naturally willing to offer strategic advice as and when he feels it proper to do so), said the following:

“Wilder has a heavy right hand but Tyson has the vision to see the blows coming and the brains to slip away. He is very athletic and mobile for someone so big. Tyson’s legs have not suffered from taking off so much weight. If he can outbox [Wladimir] Klitschko he can outbox Wilder, who is not as good as Wladimir.”

The boxer always beats the puncher, so say plenty of boxing experts. But is Fury fully fit, his body not damaged by the long months of idleness he endured, with him drinking, eating bad and even taking drugs at this time? If he can box effectively for all 12-rounds the way he did against Klitschko, if he’s in top shape to be able to do so, maybe Fury will box his way to a decision win that leaves Wilder defused and frustrated.

But as everyone knows, Wilder has ‘the equaliser,’ that bomb of a right hand, and it could only take one. This one really is a 50/50 fight.