LOS ANGELES—Deontay Wilder has perhaps the most devastating equalizer in boxing history with his unprecedented punching power.
However, Wilder doesn’t think he’s a one-trick pony, especially ahead of his huge heavyweight showdown against Tyson Fury.
“Of course I can win a fight on the score cards. Anything is possible in boxing. I’m not worried about my boxing IQ or my level of skill. I’m very confident in what I do and say and that makes me who I am,” said Wilder. “That’s why I’m still undefeated, and every fighter has tasted the canvas. You’re witnessing history.”
Wilder (42-0-1, 41 KOs) meets Fury (29-0-1, 20 KOs) on Feb. 22 in a highly anticipated heavyweight showdown at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas as part of an unprecedented Fox and ESPN pay-per-view promotion.
A calculated Wilder, the WBC champion since 2015, was down on points on all three judges’ scorecards when he destroyed Luis Ortiz with one punch in the seventh round during his last fight. Ortiz was outboxing Wilder and perhaps could have even sneaked by with a decision had he played it more safe and avoided Wilder’s right hand. Many believe Fury did enough to win the first fight, despite the pair of knockdowns he suffered.
“When I go in there, it’s not like I’m trying to play with fire or lose rounds or whatever. No one wants to lose rounds,” said Wilder. “When you have devastating power like I do, you don’t really worry about it too much. It’s a 12-round fight. Thirty-six minutes. Somebody is going to have to make a mistake, and guess what, you’re going to make more than one mistake. They have to be perfect for 12 rounds. I only have to be perfect for two seconds.
“My fists are wrecking balls. I told Fury I was going to baptize him. His nerves come from being knocked down before. Just imagine if you were the opponent that night, and you don’t know how f— you got up … It’s scary, not only to you, but to your family, your friends — everybody. That’s why they don’t want him to take it again. My last two outings didn’t make it any better for him because I knocked out two guys in devastating fashion. His outings versus my outings are day and night.”
Photos: Daniel Dubois, Joe Joyce Nearly Explode at Presser
THE big and much anticipated heavyweight showdown between Britain’s undefeated KO merchants ‘Dynamite’ Daniel Dubois and Olympic silver medalist ‘Juggernaut’ Joe Joyce is finally on. (photos by Reuters)
The pair will duke it out at The O2, London on Saturday April 11 live on BT Sport Box Office.
British, Commonwealth, WBC Silver and WBO International champion, Dubois will go in against Joyce, the WBA Gold champion and the former Commonwealth and WBA Continental champion, ranked No.1 by the EBU.
It is a fight that has been brewing since the London pair were put forward to contend for the British title last summer, but ultimately headed in alternate directions, with Dubois (14-0) taking on fellow young heavy Nathan Gorman and Joyce (10-0) scoring a notable win over the experienced American Bryant Jennings.
There can be little dispute that Dubois and Joyce are the frontrunners when it comes to the emerging forces in the heavyweight division, and the winner of their much anticipated 12-round battle will be on the brink of a world heavyweight title challenge.
For Dubois, 22, it is a natural next step following his belt-collecting exploits since turning professional in April 2017 and subsequently winning nine championship titles inside 41 rounds of action.
Joyce, 34, won the Commonwealth title in his fourth professional fight, having made his professional debut in October 2017, and won his WBA strap in December 2018 following a first round stoppage of Joe Hanks.
He defeated former WBC world champion Bermane Stiverne via a sixth round KO in February 2019 and then scored a quick fire third round victory over the giant Alexander Ustinov in his first appearance as a Queensberry Promotions fighter last May.
The unanimous points decision over Jennings came in the July before a period of inactivity followed while he awaited mandatory shots at the European and WBA Regular titles that have yet to come to fruition.
Besides his Gold belt, Joyce enjoys high rankings with the WBC and WBO.
