Tyson Fury vs Deontay Wilder 3: The final word on Saturday's heavyweight trilogy showdown

Fury vs Wilder 3: The final word

Some people see the glass half full. Others see the glass half empty.

In the aftermath of Anthony Joshua’s defeat by Oleksandr Usyk at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last month, plenty of fans on social media (and a fair few boxing scribes) were claiming the heavyweight division was in ruins. AJ had lost his belts at the very moment a superfight against Tyson Fury was within touching distance.

It would be remiss not to concede that the manner of Usyk’s dominant win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium has now taken away some of the mystique surrounding Fury v Joshua. And the power brokers within the sport need to have a long hard look at themselves and admit that the next time boxing is presented with a fight the whole world wants to see, that fight should be made.

Boxing will always survive, but with so many controversies plaguing it - the absolute absurdity of the alphabet ‘world’ titles, the failed drug tests, the torrent of bad decisions - it needs the big fights to stay relevant. And more specifically, it needs the big heavyweight fights.

So while Fury v Joshua may have lost a little of its lustre, the emergence of Usyk into the heavyweight mix is a huge shot in the arm for boxing’s blue riband division. It was an exquisite performance from a deliciously gifted southpaw, who is now unbeaten and holds the WBA, IBF, WBO, and IBO belts. Make no mistake, there is now a new sheriff in town - an intriguing, unbeaten superstar who is happy to partake in superfights of his own.

Fury vs Wilder 3 a fight boxing needs

This weekend at the T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas we get another big one, as Fury and Deontay Wilder finally meet in their trilogy bout.

This a fight that boxing needs. One of the main reasons the UFC has skyrocketed in terms of popularity in recent years is that the best always fight the best. Undefeated records don’t matter so much with the sport not placing as much emphasis on the mythical ‘0’ - certainly compared to its pugilistic cousin.

Fury remains unbeaten and is now universally regarded as the man at heavyweight (though confusingly most pound-for-pound lists now rate Usyk higher). The sport is lucky to have him.

To listen to ‘The Gypsy King’ sometimes, he sounds like he eats bricks on toast and washes that down with pints of mortar. But behind the rugged exterior is a serious competitor. A fighter with a brilliant boxing brain. A man familiar with the violent nuances of the sweet science and the sacrifice needed to excel at elite level. He has served his apprenticeship. Hours and hours of gym drills, roadwork and savage sparring. Thirty-one fights. Zero losses.

That jerky head movement and surprisingly nimble footwork is hugely underrated. Just as underrated though is his attitude. Unlike his big British rival Joshua, he has claimed his biggest victories on the road. Few gave him a chance against Wladimir Klitschko in Dusseldorf in 2015. Klitschko was on an 11-year unbeaten run and fighting on home soil, yet Fury won handily on points.

In 2018 he was a huge underdog again and fighting on enemy terrain against Wilder at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. During the years between touching gloves with Klitschko and Wilder he had battled booze and mental health demons, and yet he put on a clinic. He would surely have won on points but for that huge knockdown he suffered in the final round. However the fact he got up from that knockdown (when seemingly unconscious as the ref’s count reached ‘three’) and ended the round on top only added to his legend.

Fury left absolutely no room for argument in his rematch with Wilder at the MGM Grand in 2020, blasting ‘The Bronze Bomber’ to a seventh-round TKO defeat. This ‘have gloves, will travel’ style is hugely refreshing in an era when the star names often want everything in their favour.

Floyd Mayweather finished with a 50-0 pro record and will be in future conversations when you talk about the all-time greats. Yet Mayweather boxed every professional fight on US soil and towards the back end of his career insisted on catchweight contests, pulling the strings when it came to agreeing fight locations.

The same goes for the sport’s current cash cow Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, who has boxed his entire career in either America or his native Mexico - and due to his superstar status now calls the shots when it comes to inking the finer details of a fight contract.

What many boxing fans regret is that the sport primarily functions as a business rather than a pure sport. And sometimes certain aspects of a fight - such as weight, venue or chosen judges - change in order to tilt the odds in favour of the ‘house’ fighter.

Fury the road warrior

So while Joshua remains one of the most marketable fighters on the planet, Fury is one of the most remarkable as he has backed up his boasts time and time again and done so wherever he's had to go.

Fury and Wilder are both huge personalities, which is an obvious plus for the sport. They both can be big, bombastic, crazy guys when the mood takes them and the cameras are rolling. The big difference is that Wilder stays in character once the bell rings, whereas Fury becomes even-tempered and focused.

Wilder is not a sublime fighter, nor a craftsman. He’s a genetic lottery winner blessed with a muck-spreader of a right hand. In a pro career which began back in 2008, he has definitely over-achieved and he knows his limitations. He also knows he is the hardest-hitting heavyweight in the sport today. As the man himself once memorably put it: "My opponent has to be perfect for 12 rounds, and I only have to be perfect for one second."

The image being sold by Wilder ahead of this trilogy fight is one of violent serenity. He has an aura of menace about him. But talk is cheap: does he truly believe he can beat a man who comprehensively outboxed him in their first fight and then systematically obliterated him in the return? If he does, he has a shout.

Yet let’s not get it twisted. Fury has a massive psychological advantage going in, given how he has performed in their first two tangos. Part of the attraction with Fury is that you genuinely do not know what he is going to say. In the modern sports media, where video journalists now outnumber written scribes, the one-liner, the soundbite, is king.

Expect more high jinks during fight week, and some of it might not be pretty. Wilder has been in denial since that crushing TKO loss. Talk of spiked water, heavy ring costumes, biased refs, disloyal trainers. All complete nonsense of course. And yet the fight is a good one because Deontay has that equaliser in his right glove. We should get closure this weekend. Whatever happens, the heavyweight division is in rude health. Fury and Usyk are unbeaten. Two brilliant boxers and fascinating characters. Joshua is still, even without the belts, one of the biggest names in the sport. And Wilder is Wilder.

In the years following Muhammad Ali’s prime and the ascension of Mile Tyson there was a ‘Lost Generation’ of 1980s heavyweights. It was a dark period. And for a long time during the Klitschko reign, due to a scarcity of legitimate challengers, the sport was stagnating.

Right now, the division is as healthy as it has been for years. Four men are seated at the top table, all with championship claims.

If Usyk outboxes Joshua in their return, and Fury does another job on Wilder, then Fury and Usyk could meet for the undisputed world heavyweight crown in a glorious battle of unbeatens. If Joshua somehow manages to solve the Usyk puzzle, then his showdown with great British rival Fury is back on. And as long as the best fight the best the financial wheels will turn, the fans will tune in and the sport with thrive.

You see, some people see the glass half full. Others see the glass half empty. Those in the know are simply thankful to have a glass.