By: Hans Themistode
While the rest of the world collectively picked up their jaws from the ground due to the shock of how dominant Tyson Fury was against Deontay Wilder in their February rematch, unified Heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua wasn’t.
With Fury and Wilders first contest in 2018, ending in a close split decision draw, it was anyone’s guess as to who would win the rematch. Whomever you decided to side with wouldn’t have been argued as both men had a great chance of winning. But no one, maybe outside of Fury, saw how easy that match turned out.
Fury dropped Wilder twice throughout, and pounded on him for seven rounds until his corner screamed “no mas” and threw in the towel.
Wilder has always been a bit one dimensional in his career. But that dimension is arguably the best in the entire sport. His right hand. Yet, when he couldn’t find a home for it, a beatdown ensued.
Their contest may have taken place roughly two months ago, but most fans and media pundits are trying to make sense of it. Wilder was as dominant as they come. And before that match, he had always been the hammer and not the nail.
Although Joshua is enjoying his second reign as champion, his true calling could be in fortune telling as he saw what happened to Wilder coming a mile away.
“I believed Tyson Fury could potentially do what he done,” Joshua told Sky Sports. “I just felt like, Deontay Wilder is a formidable ex-champion. He has a chance to come back as well. But I just knew that when he gets to the top level, it will be difficult. It’s one thing getting there and it’s another thing staying there.”
“We’ve seen in some of his fights, it’s been difficult for him. But then he lands his punch and he’s been victorious. But I always believe that when you go to war, you can’t have one weapon in your arsenal. Which was his right hand.”
“Once that was taken away from him, which Tyson Fury did, I’m not going to go into tactics, but he was able to annihilate Deontay Wilder and expose him for some of his weaknesses. Tyson Fury did a great job tactically and I’m looking forward to their rematch.”
A third fight with Wilder and Fury was originally set to take place sometime in July. But with COVID-19 interfering with every sport around the world, a tentative date in October has been made.