Mike Tyson has given Tyson Fury “a fighting chance” against Deontay Widler when they meet in tonight’s WBC heavyweight title bout due to the mental obstacles that the British boxer has had to overcome over the last three years.
Fury goes into the Los Angeles fight as the bookmakers’ underdog, but the former WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight champion is being tipped to spring yet another upset, little more than three years after he stunned the world with victory over Wladimir Klitschko to dethrone the long-reigning Ukrainian.
But after either being stripped of his titles of relinquishing them, and battling drug addition, alcoholism and mental health problems, Fury has shed nearly 10 stone to return to the ring and take on reigning WBC champion Wilder across the Atlantic inside the Staples Centre.
Not unfamiliar with the mental pressures that come with boxing, Mike Tyson – whom Fury was named after – believes that the difficulties the 30-year-old has been through over the last few years could help him overcome Wilder’s obvious punching power advantage.
“Wilder’s punch is strong but nothing can compare to the mental strength Fury has shown in and out of the ring,” Tyson said on the eve of the fight.
“It’ll be a close call, but I think Fury’s got a fighting chance.”
Both Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield also give Fury a chance, although it must be said that all three former heavyweight world champions were sitting on the fence with their predictions.
However, the boxing greats did agree that the longer the contest goes on, the more likely it is that Fury will claim victory
“I think with Deontay’s power, he might be able to end it early, but if Tyson can frustrate him and it goes the distance, then it could go his way,” Holyfield said this week.
“Tyson’s always been the bigger fighter. In fighting Deontay, it’s the same case. If things get difficult, he’s (Fury’s) got more experience and a lot of tricks.”
Lewis added: “If it goes the distance, then it belongs to Tyson Fury. If it’s a short fight, it will belong to Deontay Wilder.”
While the three past boxing champions wouldn’t commit on who will win, current IBF, WBA and WBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua was clear in his thinking over who will take victory this weekend.
“Definitely Wilder,” Joshua said. “I’m saying Wilder because I was thinking about it today. When I fought Klistchko he had 16 to 17 months off because Fury got injured and had to pull out of his fight so he had a long period off.
“He said it done him well because he was training in between (fights), he had revitalised his body – he’d been doing it for so long, took himself out of the box, freshened up. He trained and kept his body active and then he had a fight with me. But due to the fact that I was probably active while he was waiting to fight Fury, I managed to get the stoppage in the 11th round.
“That activeness plays a big part in boxing. So then you’ve got Fury who had a long lay-off, wasn’t trying as he (did) the opposite, and now he’s going to fight a championship fighter. The proof’s in the pudding and history only teaches us that it will repeat itself, so I think that Fury will lose, Wilder will win and providing there’s no rematch contract there would be no reason for us not to fight.”
