When Deontay Wilder finally landed his money punch against Tyson Fury in Round 12 of their epic heavyweight championship clash back in December 2018, it appeared the American had finally seized the throne of what’s long been considered boxing’s glamour division.
Wilder had knocked out every single fighter he had ever faced inside a boxing ring as a professional, with the exception of the time he broke his right hand during his first bout against Bermane Stiverne in 2015.
But minus the one fight with a broken moneymaker, Wilder had knocked out everyone.
It appeared as if it was happening again during the final round of the first fight. Fury went down hard, straight down on his back, and it appeared as if he wouldn’t stand up again for a good amount of time.
But that’s not what happened. Fury shockingly got back to his feet before the referee could finish counting him out and finished the round upright to save the split-draw verdict.
Now the two meet again under virtually the same circumstances as the first fight. Both Wilder and Fury enter the rematch as undefeated heavyweights with valid claims to boxing’s heavyweight championship. Wilder is the WBC titleholder. Fury is considered by some to be the lineal heavyweight champion.
Here’s a head-to-toe breakdown of how these two fighters match up against each other ahead of their massive showdown this weekend in Las Vegas.
What: Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury; 12-round heavyweight championship bout rematch for Wilder’s WBC title and Fury’s lineal championship.
Where: MGM Grand in Las Vegas
When: Feb. 22
TV: Fox Sports and ESPN+ pay-per-view
What’s At Stake: In addition to putting their titles and undefeated records on the line, Wilder and Fury will also be battling to secure the top spot in the heavyweight division.
The winner of the bout will win the vacant heavyweight championships offered by The Ring magazine and the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board. Those titles are considered by some to be step up from the alphabet titles offered by the four major sanctioning organizations in boxing, the WBC, WBA, WBO and IBF.
The winner of Wilder-Fury 2 will also be in a great position to do something no heavyweight boxer has done since Lennox Lewis defeated Evander Holyfield in 2000. By beating Holyfield, Lewis became the last undisputed heavyweight champion in boxing history. The winner of Wilder-Fury 2 would need only to square-off next against WBA, WBO and IBF titleholder Anthony Joshua for the chance at doing the same.
