With the tagline “Once and For All” implying finality to their feud, Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder meet for the third time on the night of July 24 in Las Vegas. Seeing the pair completing a trilogy may not be what the boxing world had much of an appetite for, but it’s the bout The Gypsy King signed up to.
Pesky politics and honoring contracts are part and parcel of this sport. The history between Fury and the man they call The Bronze Bomber is well-documented by now. Their first fight ended in a split decision draw with the British boxer running out a clear winner of the rematch.
It’s for that reason that the Fury v Wilder odds from Paddy Power make The Gypsy King a hot favorite. From a betting perspective, it boils down to the fact that one boxer knows he can beat the other with The Bronze Bomber only thinking he can gain revenge.
Wilder is not accustomed to being the underdog, and that may make him dangerous. In this third fight, he has nothing to lose and everything to gain, which perhaps explains why he refused to stand aside and give up his shot.
Many of the boxing tips given by experts on the fight suggest another Fury win by knockout is the value bet with the bookies. It’s a bigger price than just backing The Gypsy King for the outright win in the fight.
The incentive for Fury to get the job done and put his feud with Wilder to bed is obvious. Win this third bout of the trilogy, and surely a chance at becoming undisputed world heavyweight champion beckons? The course of sport never runs quite that smooth, however, as we would’ve seen that fight already if so.
As things stand, Anthony Joshua who has most of the world titles also needs to make a successful defense of his belts against undefeated Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk this fall in order for the all-British bout for all the gold to happen. That is the super-fight that boxing needs.
In the UK at least, Fury facing Joshua ought to be a box office smash. Doing likewise for a third fight with Wilder is probably a tougher pay-per-view sell as boxing fans have seen it all before. That is the perception, anyway.
Fury and Wilder’s feud has been nothing if not unpredictable, though. From the memorable, controversial draw to the decisive outcome of their rematch, their first two encounters have had an infinite capacity to surprise. Both the booked and prospective world heavyweight title fights in boxing should be must-see viewing.
Even if The Gypsy King repeats his seventh-round stoppage of the American from last year, the tactic of going on the offensive is something he has exposed Wilder to now. In other words, it’s something that The Bronze Bomber shouldn’t be caught out by again and can prepare for now. Another dose of his own medicine won’t go down well with Wilder, who has it all to do according to the odds.