By Matt Lieberman: Deontay Wilder is looking mean and sharp in his 6-minute training video that he posted on Instagram on Tuesday to show him preparing for his October 9th trilogy against Tyson Fury.
In the video clip, the former WBC heavyweight champion Wilder (42-1-1, 41 KOs) is seen working out with his new coach Malik Scott, throwing combinations to the body and powerful hooks to the head.
The emphasis on throwing body shots is totally new for the 13-year professional Wilder, as he’s always been a head-focused knockout artist. It could be interesting if Wilder can duplicate the body punching next month against WBC heavyweight champion Fury (30-0-1, 21 KOs).
The changes in Wilder’s game:
- Throwing more jabs
- Body punching
- Movement
- Combination punching
- Circling the ring
All these things were missing from Wilder’s game in his first two fights with Fury in 2018 and 2020, which led to him having problems against the big Brit.
It’s going to be fun to see what type of success Wilder will have using these new wrinkles to his game or if he remembers to use them at all.
Sometimes fighters, especially older ones, show different stuff in training but then revert to their normal style of fighting after a round or two in their next fights.
If Wilder cannot be consistent with the new things that his trainer Malik has taught him, he’s not going to last long against Fury on October 9th.
Wilder doesn’t have the right game to stand in one place against Fury because he’s not a combination puncher, and he doesn’t have the inside game required for that type of fighting.
Someone like Anthony Joshua would do well against Fury by planting his feet in the center of the ring and waiting for him to come to him to try and brawl at close to medium distance.
Joshua would likely tear Fury apart in a proximity battle, and there’s a good chance the ‘Gypsy King’ knows that and wouldn’t dare fight him that way.
Fury is expected to come into the fight in the low 270s once again, which is the same weight he weighed a year and a half ago on February 22nd, 2020, when he knocked out Wilder in the seventh round in their rematch at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Next month, Fury will be facing Wilder for the third time when the two meets live on FOX Sports PPV on October 9th at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
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