Today marks the culmination of weeks of preparation and media hype ending in a display of what can be considered complimentary as well as contrasting styles. In one corner stands Deontay “the Bronze Bomber” Wilder, a man at Arms with 42 victories-of which 41 have come by knockout. In the other corner we have Tyson “The Gypsy king” Fury, a man with ring movement as self defining as the very last name he caries. Both men can arguably make claim to being the best the heavyweight division of boxing has to offer. Both men having the gift of gab making claims to the heavyweight throne comes easy proving it is where the real challenge lies.
Their first encounter with one another in the ring resulted in a draw. Public opinion on the other hand may have giving Fury a slight edge on the “who do you really think won the fight” meter. While Wilder did score 2 knockdowns in the fight it was the performance of Fury that really grabbed the attention of spectators. Consistenly making Wilder miss and rising from the canvas twice, Fury’s performance exceeded the expectations of all including Deontay Wilder himself.
Prior to their match up on December 1, 2018 Fury was recovering from mental depression and the physical debilitating traits that go along with it. Fury’s weight ballooned to numbers beyond 400 lbs and much of his come back to his previous championship state had to do with losing weight as it did with remastering the craft of boxing. It had been 2 plus years since Fury had fought a competitor of true championship level talent when he entered the ring against Wilder the current and reining WBC heavyweight champion. Having a mere tune up fight months prior to help get back in the grove of competing very few people gave Fury a chance to leave the ring with anything other than a lost by Knock Out.
One could argue that sports is voyeuristic in nature but with closer inspection at the norms of society it seems to hold true that those who truly enjoy sports to do so vicariously. The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat. As spectators we feel the joy and the pain of the athletes we follow and as fellow athletes we may draw inspiration and the motivation to compete. While the goal is always to give one’s best often times the subtleties of life and the psychology of sport come into play. A potential opponent not looking stellar in their last performance, a glimpse of what might appear to be the lack of ability. The aura of supreme confidence that straddles the line of arrogance and the challenge of motivating ones self to bring an "A" game performance in what may be perceived to be a C rated matchup. One statement that is often echoed is “competition will bring the best out of me” well if a matchup is not viewed as being competitive in one’s mind will that ultimately lead to preparation that is not so great and a performance that follows suit. Was Fury’s performance that great or was it Wilder’s mindset on December 1, 2018 and his preparation leading up to it the cause result of the splint decision draw witnessed. Wilder Fury Part Duex should provide the answers to the questions we all have been asking. Come Feb 23, 2020 hopefully these questions get answered.