Who wins the trilogy?
The boxing fraternity has given their opinion and predictions; so let’s weigh in on the gossip.
British powerhouses Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua were given yet another roadblock to prevent the unification of boxing’s heavyweight championships in the form of 'The Bronze Bomber' Deontay Wilder. And now, on July 24th, the duo will square off for the third time at the T-Mobile Arena.
As contractual negotiations were weeks away from the final stages, a US juror sided with bitter rival Wilder’s contractual dispute, causing a halt in the undisputed plans of Fury vs Joshua.
Wilder’s rematch clause was deemed legally binding and the decision was final on May 17th, which ordered Fury to face Wilder one more time, no later than September 15th.
The first time they met in December of 2018 ended in a controversial draw, where many believed Fury’s hand should’ve been raised. Their second encounter left no doubt, as Fury demolished the Bronze Bomber in a seventh-round TKO. The towel was through in once Wilder’s corner suspected a burst eardrum following two knockdowns.
Mike Tyson Prediction for Fury vs Wilder III
Whilst discussing the upcoming trilogy bout on his podcast (Hotboxing) with former champion Andy Ruiz Jr and retired two-division UFC champion Henry Cejudo, Tyson, the former heavyweight legend of the 80s and 90s, has a belief that Fury has too much talent for Wilder.
Of course, should the Bronze Bomber suffer an apparent defeat to Fury for a second time, it will surely be his last chance of heavyweight gold, and Mike Tyson feels the Gypsy King has Wilder’s number.
“No way, you know, Deontay Wilder has nothing to be sad about… I think Tyson Fury has his number.” Tyson said.
Bookies from Virginia will have the odds. They agree that Fury should walk out victorious, delivering odds of around -300 on the champ to defend the heavyweight strap successfully.
Paulie Malignaggi Prediction for Fury vs Wilder III
Elsewhere in the boxing world, former two-division champion Paulie Malignaggi predicts another easy victory for Tyson Fury.
“I think it’s hard for Wilder to match-up with Fury, and I think it’s stylistically a bad fight for him,” Paulie told iFL TV.
“I think wilder is one of the best heavyweights in the world. I don’t think he stylistically matches up with Fury. I don’t believe, so Wilder fights going backwards really well. For anybody that gives me the Szpilka knockout or Luis Ortiz knockout in the second fight, a step-back counter shot isn’t fighting to go backwards.
“I’m talking about a guy that is consistently backing you up, and your momentum now is taking you backwards and psychologically; you need to be in reverse mode fighting.
“That’s what Fury does to you, and I don’t think Wilder knows how to fight like that. There have been some great fighters that didn’t know how to fight going backwards.
“Sometimes it’s a matter of styles, and it’s a problem. I think Wilder needs to believe his hype in this situation between he lost his last fight. So I think he needs to believe that there were reasons for it,” Malignaggi said.
Anthony Joshua Prediction for Fury vs Wilder III
Another fighter to doubt Wilder’s capabilities is the opponent Tyson Fury would have been fighting if the legal terms never came to fruition, Anthony Joshua.
When speaking with TalkSport about Fury and Wilder’s third bout, Joshua predicted his fellow British heavyweight would arise as the victor for a consecutive time.
“I don’t mind, I don’t mind,” Joshua said when asked of his opinion on the contest.
“But Fury won the last one, so I’ll go with Fury because you’re only as good as your last performance. Good luck to both”.
However, Tyson Fury isn’t so confident that Joshua can defeat Ukrainian challenger Oleksandr Usyk.
“Usyk is a southpaw, clever, technically very good. He’s smaller as a former cruiserweight champion, but he handled Derek Chisora, who is physically tougher than Joshua,” Fury said.
Fingers crossed, Fury’s prediction is nothing more than mind games because a loss for either Joshua or Fury could destroy the plans of a heavyweight unification title bout between the two.