Tyson Fury vs. Deontay Wilder III: Betting Odds and Prediction
Fans have been waiting a long time, but Tyson Fury is finally set to defend the WBC heavyweight championship against Deontay Wilder on Saturday night in Las Vegas. Fury and Wilder first fought to a split draw in December 2018, with Wilder retaining the WBC heavyweight title. Just under a year after the first fight, Fury won the WBC belt in the rematch after Wilder’s corner threw in the towel in the seventh round. Now, after numerous contract delays and back-and-forth verbal sparring, Fury and Wilder will once again fight for the WBC heavyweight championship.
Fury is a -299 favourite to win on Sports Interaction’s boxing odds, with Wilder coming in as a +210 underdog. A draw is +2300.
Tyson Fury Boxing Odds
Fury put his name on the map when he ended Wladimir Klitschko’s 10-year unbeaten streak in 2015 to become the unified world champion. The unanimous decision win made him the WBA (Super), IBF and WBO heavyweight champion. It was an up-and-down time for Fury as he was stripped of his IBF title just two weeks later because of the mandatory rematch clause in the contract of the Klitschko fight. Fury eventually relinquished all of his titles in 2016, following mental health and drug issues.
After some time away from boxing, Fury returned to the ring in January 2018, winning two dominant fights in June and August to set up the first fight with Wilder in December 2018. Fury’s unorthodox stance seemed to be a problem for Wilder and despite being knocked down late in the 12th round, many people though Fury did enough to earn the decision. The split draw result made a rematch inevitable. After Fury and Wilder each won twice in 2019, the rematch was set for February 2020. Fury dominated the fight, winning by technical knockout in the seventh round and taking back the WBC heavyweight title.
Fury is a smart fighter who has outboxed Wilder and seems to only get better after every round. He has a two-inch reach advantage and he outweighed Wilder by 42 pounds in the last fight. Fury is adaptable and can win multiple ways, depending on the opponent. His footwork helps him be defensively sound and he has power in both hands. I expect Fury to avoid dangerous situations and not take any unnecessary risks in this fight.
Deontay Wilder Boxing Odds
Wilder shocked the boxing world in 2015 when he claimed the WBC heavyweight championship by beating Bermaine Stiverne by unanimous decision. In 32 previous fights to that point, Wilder had never gone the distance. Two years later, Wilder was even more dominant in the rematch, finishing Striverne in the first round. Wilder next set his sights on unified champion, Anthony Joshua, who won the vacated Fury titles in the previous year. When talks broke down, Wilder took the first Fury fight in anticipation of fighting Joshua for the unified heavyweight title in 2019.
In one of the most anticipated fights of 2018, Wilder retained his WBC title, fighting Fury to a 12-round split draw. It actually looked like Wilder had won the fight when Fury went down in the 12th round. Fury eventually beat the count, although he didn’t land any more shots. The second fight, in February 2020, was essentially a pick’em, but Wilder ended up being dominated. Wilder lost the fight and his WBC title when his trainer eventually threw in the towel in the seventh round.
If there’s anything the second fight against Fury showed, it’s that Wilder really only has one way to win a fight and that’s with his devastatingly powerful fists. Wilder knows he needs to make a statement in this fight, but he’ll have to be smarter. Because of that, I’m expecting him to come out more cautious. Look for him to try to control the distance to make up for his two-inch reach disadvantage and rely more on his jab. Wilder can’t continue to rely on his offence as his defence in this fight. He learned that lesson the hard way in the last fight. There’s pride on the line for Wilder and that can’t be underestimated in boxing.
Tyson Fury vs. Deontay Wilder Boxing Prediction
These boxers have fought 18.5 rounds against each other, so there’s not much they can surprise each other with. I don’t expect this fight to be as close as the first one, or as one-sided as the last one. Fury has proven he’s the better boxer and while I think he wins on Saturday night, it won’t be a breeze. Take Fury to win by decision at +240.
