The Official TSS Fury-Wilder III Prediction Page

When a big fight comes down the pike, we turn to our fine ensemble of writers to get their thoughts. And for the third time, we are soliciting their opinions on a fight involving Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury.

It’s interesting to note how the conventional wisdom has changed.

Wilder-Fury I was staged on Dec. 1, 2018 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Consistent with the odds — Wilder was a consensus 17-10 favorite – our survey showed a distinct lean to the American. There was a school of thought that Fury’s unorthodox style would puzzle Wilder, but the Gypsy King had lost more than two years of his prime battling personal demons while ballooning up in weight and several of our panelists were of the opinion that he would likely gas out if he was still standing after nine rounds.

The rematch, staged on Feb. 22, 2020 at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas, was a “pick-‘em” fight. In fact, if a person shopped around and timed his wagers adroitly, he could have actually locked in a small profit before the first punch was thrown.

Once again, the opinions were consistent with the odds, which is to say that there was roughly a 50/50 split. In their first meeting, Fury had demonstrated beyond any doubt that he was the superior boxer, but he seemingly had more distractions in his life going into their second meeting and Wilder’s lethal right hand was presumably as potent as ever.

The third meeting finds the Gypsy King a consensus 3/1 favorite. And the manner in which he dominated their second encounter made it hard for our panelists to pick against him. His mastery in Episode 2 ensured that it would overshadow all other factors, boiling the handicapping checklist down to almost nothing.

Our panelists are listed alphabetically. Comic book cover artist ROB AYALA, whose specialty is combat sports, provided the graphic. Check out more of Rob’s very cool illustrations at his web site fight posium.

Forecasts

In their second bout, Fury chose to go toe-to-toe with Wilder and it worked; he beat him up. Confidence goes a long way and it will be the key difference on Saturday. The pick: Fury by knockout in the late stages. – RICK ASSAD

Picking a winner for the third pairing of Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder is probably trickier than it ought to be, for a couple of reasons. Was the fight postponed in July because Fury really did test positive for COVID-19, or because he simply was not in proper condition to proceed then? How much will the change in Wilder’s corner, with former fringe heavyweight contender Malik Scott now his chief second, affect what happens in the ring? How much drama has been drained from the fight because Anthony Joshua isn’t awaiting the winner after his upset loss to Oleksandr Usyk? All that said, I am absolutely certain I can’t make any call I am absolutely certain of. So, what the hell, let’s call it Fury by sixth-round stoppage. Or Wilder by sixth-round stoppage. Whatever. – BERNARD FERNANDEZ

I cannot say with absolute certainty just how Tyson Fury will beat Deontay Wilder but he definitely will because one thing I am certain of (after seeing them fight twice) is that Wilder cannot and will not beat the undefeated Gypsy King. Fury wins again. Probably another pulverizing TKO. – JEFFREY FREEMAN

I love this fight because I don’t know what will happen. I’m mystified by all the people who, eighteen months ago, were calling Wilder the hardest puncher in boxing history and are saying now that he doesn’t have a chance. If Fury is in fighting shape, I think he wins by a late stoppage. But he might not be. I’ll let you know after two rounds. – THOMAS HAUSER

The wild card here that no one talks about his Wilder’s new trainer Malik Scott. He’s young (turns 40 this month) and unproven, but people that know him well tell me he’s very sharp. If he can equip Deontay with an effective jab (Wilder uses his left merely as a range finder), then Fury will be up against a different cat than the one he fought in March of last year. However, Fury dismantled Wilder so thoroughly in their second meeting that I hesitate to pick against him. Fury TKO 11. – ARNE LANG

I like Fury by stoppage in the sixth round or sooner. I’d love to give Wilder the benefit of the doubt in the third fight, but I’ve seen nothing from the former champ to suggest he’s done anything to fix his flaws. There’s a fine line in boxing between the good kind of denial that can keep you fighting to win even though you’re down on the cards and the bad kind that keeps you from bettering yourself. Wilder was soundly whipped in the second fight. To have a chance in the third, he needed to admit it. He didn’t, so another beating is on the way. – KELSEY McCARSON

The first fight demonstrated what an out of shape Tyson Fury can do with a focused Deontay Wilder; the second fight demonstrated what a focused Fury can do with a hampered Wilder. This needless third fight will have me up at 5am because, hey, it’s the world’s heavyweight championship, but it is just a case of when and where, the who is already known. I’ll pick Fury to get Wilder out of there in ten, but it’s a little arbitrary because the details depend upon the intangibles – training, focus, alcohol and injury. – MATT McGRAIN

Courtroom scuffles, recriminations, Covid-19 infections, and the general zaniness of the principal characters has enveloped the third bout between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder in a fog of uncertainty, a somewhat surprising development given how lopsided a beatdown Fury handed to Wilder in their second match nearly 20 months ago and which subsequently seemed to render the idea of another go-around redundant. When you consider Fury’s erratic nature – he dropped out of the Wladimir Klitschko rematch in what should have been his first defense of his heavyweight titles and then bottomed out, going through a life-threatening bender of drugs, alcohol and depression – and the fact that Wilder, for all his sordid conspiratorial accusations, remains, if nothing else, one of the sport’s most lethal knockout artists — then you consider all these shifting elements at play, you begin to think anything is possible. With no confidence at all: Fury on points. – SEAN NAM

Wilder was both mentally and physically destroyed by the giant. The same thing will happen this time. Wilder’s best bet is to go all out and try to get Fury into an exchange, opening up the possibility of the big right, but the “Traveler” is too savvy for that. I believe it was Hagler who said “destruct and destroy.” That’s what this will be —- again. – TED SARES

Brain says Fury, gut says Wilder. Only sure thing is that the winner is true heavyweight champion by virtue of “man who beat the man.” Prior action in their first two fights leans heavily in Fury’s direction but there’s also high probability Wilder is by far the hungrier of the two since his debacle in February 2020, and plenty of documented distractions around the Gypsy King. Would have to recommend that friends bet on Fury, but if it was my own cash I’d put it on Wilder. – PHIL WOOLEVER

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