Deontay Wilder, Tyson Fury ready for rematch of controversial draw

Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury were perplexed.

They were dissatisfied with the outcome of their first fight on Dec. 1, 2018, in Los Angeles. And they are still dissatisfied today, some 14 months after the controversial split draw — the only draw of their respective careers.

“We left people confused about what happened or who won,” said Wilder, the undefeated WBC heavyweight champion. “I knocked him out the first time.”

Fury remembers the first fight a little differently.

“The fact of the matter is I believe I out-boxed him comfortable last time,” said Fury, the undefeated lineal heavyweight champion “But it’s no good me believing it. The judges have to believe it.”

They’ll finally settle the score Saturday night.

Wilder (42-0-1, 41 knockouts) and Fury (29-0-1, 20 KOs) are set to make their grand arrivals Tuesday afternoon at MGM Grand, igniting four days of festivities before their rematch at MGM Grand Garden.

The first fight left the public salivating for more. One judge scored the first fight an even 11-113. One judge scored the fight 115-111 in favor of Wilder. One scored it 114-112 for Fury, who was knocked down in the ninth and 12th rounds.

Fury outpointed Wilder for the better part of the fight, landing 84 punches to Wilder’s 71 and connecting on 25.7 percent to Wilder’s 16.5, per CompuBox. He also landed more punches in nine of the 12 rounds, and said he learned Wilder “can be hit, and he can be hurt quite regularly.”

“That’s the biggest thing that I learned about Deontay Wilder,” Fury added. “Nothing I didn’t already know. Before I fought him, obviously I didn’t know what he was like in a boxing ring, and after I fought him, I know what he’s like. And I think there’s nothing to worry about.”

“He’s got a big right hand and that’s it. He’s a one-dimensional fighter.”

Wilder connected with that big right hand, though, sending Fury to the canvas twice, including in a 12th round in which he barely beat Jack Reiss’s 10 count to avoid a knockout.

But he couldn’t finish off Fury, who joined former champion Bermane Stiverne as the only fighters to go the distance with Wilder.

“In that first fight I was probably 50 percent or less coming into that fight. I didn’t fight like I normally fight,” Wilder said. “There’s a lot of things that I did that I don’t normally do. Especially when I look back at that fight, me and (trainer) Jay (Deas) can pinpoint so much, like look man, I don’t even do that.”

Wilder and Fury have both promised knockouts this time around, knowing full well they don’t want to leave the decision to the judges.

“The fans are in for a treat. They’re the ones that are getting their money worth when it comes to this fight right here,” Wilder said. “They already know what me and Tyson are all about.

“We come in, we wear our hearts on our sleeves and we fight to the end and that’s what we’re going to do come Feb. 22.”

Contact reporter Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on Twitter.