Andre ‘SOG’ Ward and Tim Bradley are excited about the rematch between WBC champion Deontay ‘The Bronze Bomber’ Wilder and lineal champ Tyson ‘The Gypsy King’ Fury that was announced earlier on Friday for February 22.
The two huge heavyweights are going to be battling for the WBC, Lineal and Ring Magazine heavyweight titles in eight weeks from now on ESPN and Fox Sports pay-per-view at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Vacant Ring Magazine heavyweight title at stake for Wilder-Fury 2
This is a fight between #1 [Wilder] and #2 [Fury] in the division. Hence, the Ring Magazine heavyweight title will be on the line. IBF/WBA/WBO champion Anthony Joshua is #3 in the Ring Magazine rankings, which shows that having more titles doesn’t mean as much as people think.
While there isn’t bad blood between Wilder (42-0-1, 41 KOs) and Fury (29-0-1, 20 KOs), there’s definitely a lot of competitive spirit. They both want to win to keep their unbeaten records intact, and to show the boxing fans that they’re #1 at heavyweight.
Fury’s promoter Bob Arum predicting over 2 million buys for Wilder rematch
Wilder-Fury fought to a controversial 12 round draw on December 1 last year at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The fight was shown on Showtime PPV. This time it’s going to be a dual broadcast with ESPN and Fox Sports televising it on PPV, and there will a farther reach between the two. That means more money for the fighters than last time.
The previous Wilder vs. Fury fight brought in 325,000 pay-per-view buys on Showtime. Fury’s promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank Boxing is predicting the Wilder-Fury rematch will pull in over 2 million buys. If the Wilder vs Fury 2 event does those numbers, that would be incredible for a heavyweight match.
The highest pay-per-view events in the U.S are as follows:
- Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao – 4.6 million buys
- Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor – 4.4 million buys
- Mayweather vs. Oscar De La Hoya – 2.4 million buys
- Mayweather vs. Canelo Alvarez – 2.2 million buys
Ward: Wilder just wants to land his atomic bomb right hand
“I Tweeted after the first fight between Fury and Wilder that neither guy would want to go through that again or risk that again in order to face each other. I was wrong,” said Andre Ward to ESPN. “The fight is happening, and Deontay Wilder is as popular, and as confident as he’s ever been.
“Tyson Fury is as popular and as confident as he’s ever been. Both of these fighters have a lot of throw back in them, and are willing to risk a lot in order to gain a lot. I respect it, and I can’t wait said Ward on Wilder vs. Fury 2.
“Wilder said, ‘I’m not trying to win rounds. I’m just trying to land this atomic bomb, and when I do, this fight will be over,'” said Ward on Wilder’s philosophy in winning his fights. “The right hand [from Wilder] is just out of this world.”
“I don’t think they have bad blood like they hate each other, but they have enough dislike to make it interesting during the promotions,” said SOG Ward on Wilder-Fury 2.
The way that Wilder fought in such a composed manner in his rematch with Luis Ortiz on November 23 was a big departure from how ‘The Bronze Bomber’ fought against Fury last year. Wilder looked flustered, and too anxious to land his right hand. He wasn’t calm at all, and he missed frequently. That got the crowd into it, and allowed Fury to taunt Wilder up until the 9th.
Once Fury got tired, Wilder dropped him twice, and looked like the better fighter at the end. In Wilder’s last two fights against Dominic Breazeale and Ortiz, he was a completely different guy than the one that fought Fury. Wilder looked like he didn’t have a care in the world in both of those matches.
The 6’7″ Deontay quickly dispatched Breazeale in the 1st round last May with a thunderous right hand. In Wilder’s rematch against Ortiz, he gave away 5 of the first 6 rounds before finally nailing the Cuban fighter with a monstrous right hand in the 7th round to knock him out.
Fury better not get hit by Wilder’s right hand – Bradley
“That’s the only thing on my mind. I know Fury can box for 12 rounds, but he better not get hit with that right hand,” said ESPN commentator Tim Bradley on Wilder-Fury 2. “You saw the patience that Deontay Wilder had in his fight against Luis Ortiz. He was very patient, very methodical. He wasn’t rushing his shots.
“You could tell that he learned a heck of a lot from the first Fury fight he had, and I think he’s going to take that type of approach into this fight that he has,” said Bradley about Wilder. “He’s going to be calm, and contain himself. Fury might win the rounds. But if he lands that right hand, he knows it’s going to be goodnight. 6-0, exactly,” said Bradley about Luis Ortiz doing well against Wilder for six rounds.
“I just want to show up at ringside. We don’t have to promote this. I think fight is going to promote itself,” said Bradley on Wilder vs. Fury II. “These guys are going to go back and forth , and they’re going to hype this fight up. No, I’m just saying, I just want to show up ringside,” said Bradley.
Fury is going to be moving a lot, and using every trick in the book to keep Wilder from hitting him flush with one of his right hands. What we’ll likely see from Fury is him leaning backwards, and going with the shots to minimize the impact. That worked for Fury last time he fought Wilder. However, Wilder finally found success in hitting Fury with flush shots in the championship rounds, and those punches did damage.
Fury fell over like a tall, skinny bowling pin in the 9th after getting clipped by one of Wilder’s big shots. Wilder threw the shot so effortlessly, but was like a grenade going off when it landed on Fury’s jaw. Three rounds later, Wilder connected with a crushing right hand to the head of Fury that sent him down. While Fury was falling, Wilder connected with a short left hook that separated him from his senses entirely.
