David Haye made one of Deontay Wilder’s boldest claims in the build-up to his rematch with Tyson Fury, only for the argument to look very different twelve days later as Fury led the American out in Las Vegas.
In February 2020, Haye supported Wilder’s chin, recovery ability and all-time punching ability ahead of his rematch with Fury at the MGM Grand.
At the time, it wasn’t an outrageous sight because Haye knew Wilder better than most from many sparring rounds.
Wilder was also undefeated, still the WBC heavyweight champion, and had almost knocked out Fury in the final round of their first meeting in 2018, which meant many people still believed that one immaculate right hand could decide the rematch.
This was the most feared version of Wilder in boxing before Fury changed the entire conversation in seven brutal rounds.
David Haye on Deontay Wilder
Ahead of the Wilder vs Fury II fight, Haye recalled his sparring sessions with Wilder before the “Bronze Bomber” became world champion.
The former cruiserweight and heavyweight titleholder told Richie Woodall on BT Sport that Wilder’s punch resistance is underestimated.
“One thing people don’t mention is impact resistance. I’ve never heard anyone say that [Deontay] I can take the shot. He can hit the shot,” Haye said.
Haye then took the point further.
“Not only does he have a good chin, but he has great recovery ability,” he added.
This was the part that came back most strongly when Fury caught him, because while Haye’s assessment of Wilder’s strength was always easier to defend, the chin and recovery argument was about to face a very different kind of pressure.
Wilder remains one of the most perilous single-punch heavyweights boxing has ever seen, with his right hand securing a world title and leaving many opponents losing their minds. No one needed to exaggerate this threat.
The rematch was different because Fury failed to give Wilder a immaculate, upright fight at the distance that allowed the threat to breathe.
Wilder vs. Fury II
Fury entered the rematch heavier, meaner and fully committed to pushing Wilder back and choking him.
From the opening rounds, the fight was nothing like the first encounter, as the challenger leaned on him, battered him, physically abused him, and kept Wilder from loading up on the weapon that made his career.
WBN was ringside in Las Vegas and scored, but the booking never mattered as Fury knocked down Wilder in the third round, knocked him down again in the fifth and kept the pressure on until the seventh when the towel came and referee Kenny Bayliss stopped the fight.
At the beginning of the seventh round, WBN had Fury in the lead 59-52. The scorecard was there, but Fury made it irrelevant.
The ringside results report described how Fury mauled, manipulated and stopped Deontay Wilder in the seventh minute, which was about as far from Haye’s assessment as Fury could take.
The claim failed within 12 days
Haye said Wilder could take the shot and recover quickly, but Fury forced boxing to see the opposite picture over seven increasingly uncomfortable rounds.
Wilder wasn’t simply sent off. He was slowly being torn apart by the pressure, size, clinch strength and a game plan designed to strip him of the rhythm that made him so perilous.
When Fury hurt him, Wilder never looked like the same fighter again.
The rematch exposed the difference between carrying terrifying power and facing a heavyweight who won’t let you recover.
Wilder still had power, but Fury had lost his aura.
The fury changed everything
Before that night, Wilder could still point to Fury’s twelfth-round escape in the first fight and argue that one punch almost decided everything.
After the rematch, the conversation was completely different because Fury not only outlived Wilder. He dominated him.
Haye’s theorem remains one of the most memorable takeaways from the fracas.
Twelve days before Fury II, Wilder was praised for his beard, recovery and devastating power. Twelve days later, only one of these claims still seemed secure.
The power survived, but everything else was destroyed.
About the author
Phil Jay is the editor-in-chief of World Boxing News (WBN) and a boxing veteran with over 15 years of experience. Read the full biography.
Another day, another Zuffa signee losing his belt for shirking his responsibilities. WBO president Gustavo Olivieri announced that the sanctioning body has denied middleweight champion Denzel Bentley’s appeal for a voluntary defense, giving him 24 hours to commit to facing mandatory challenger Yoenli Hernandez.
Bentley (22-3-1, 18 KO) was the beneficiary of Janibek Alimkhanuly’s failed drug test and subsequent emigration to the super middleweight division, as the move elevated the interim belt he’d claimed against Endry Saavendra in April to the real deal. That came with conditions, namely a mandated showdown with Hernandez (11-0, 9 KO) that failed to produce a a contract.
As for who’ll fight Hernandez for it, Vito Mielnicki Jr sits behind him at no. 2, followed by an otherwise-occupied Tim TszyuMichael Zerafa (lmao), and Fiodor Czerkaszyn. We’ll let you know as soon as an enterprising bachelor steps up.
Another day, another Zuffa signee losing his belt for shirking his responsibilities. WBO president Gustavo Olivieri announced that the sanctioning body has denied middleweight champion Denzel Bentley’s appeal for a voluntary defense, giving him 24 hours to commit to facing mandatory challenger Yoenli Hernandez.
Bentley (22-3-1, 18 KO) was the beneficiary of Janibek Alimkhanuly’s failed drug test and subsequent emigration to the super middleweight division, as the move elevated the interim belt he’d claimed against Endry Saavendra in April to the real deal. That came with conditions, namely a mandated showdown with Hernandez (11-0, 9 KO) that failed to produce a a contract.
As for who’ll fight Hernandez for it, Vito Mielnicki Jr sits behind him at no. 2, followed by an otherwise-occupied Tim TszyuMichael Zerafa (lmao), and Fiodor Czerkaszyn. We’ll let you know as soon as an enterprising bachelor steps up.
Top Rank promoter Bob Arum is back on the scene with a new knee! And now that he’s getting around again, he was able to catch up with Fight Hub TV to give his perspective on what’s been going on in the boxing business as of late, particularly as it pertains to Zuffa Boxing who appear to be in a state of flux. Check out what he had to say below!
Arum on Zuffa’s place in boxing landscape
“When you look at Zuffa, they are hoping to do what they’re doing with Saudi money and the Saudis have poured a lot of money into the sport and for a while were backing Zuffa, so Zuffa felt emboldened to offer big [money] to good fighters like Shakur Stevenson. Now, apparently the Saudis, Turki and Sela have gotten the word from up high in Saudi Arabia, ‘hey, this money is not going to be unlimited, you’ve got to cut down,’ or there’s no money — I don’t know what they’ve told them.
“So the Saudis are clearly pulling back and who knows if they’re going to be involved in boxing after this year. They’ve already, apparently, sold Ring Magazine to DAZN. So, if the Saudi money isn’t there, Zuffa is not going to spend its own money to promote fights because they have announced to their shareholders that they would not do that. And if they start doing it, then they leave themselves open to a major shareholder suit.
“So, again, we have to see what’s going to happen. There’s no animosity, people are doing what they feel is best for them and that’s business. How this all turns out, we’re going to have to see next year and the years after that.”
On whether he thinks Zuffa has done a good job thus far
“What does it mean to have done a good job? If somebody gave me a barrel of money to put on fights, would I be doing a good job? Sure. But anybody would be doing a good job. I mean, give Oscar this kind of money, give Eddie this kind of money.
“So it’s not a question of a good job, the question is can they make matches having a limited budget that is limited by the financial viability of the fight, not what somebody from the outside is pouring into it. That’s doing a big, good job — making it work for them, for the public, for the fighters without the fighters outside help putting in all this money without any way to get it back.”
On Shakur splitting with Zuffa before one fight together
“Once they realized there was no money coming from the Saudis to fund a $15M fight deal, then what do you do? If you can get out of that contract, you get out of it. Did they get out, did it cost them any money to get out? I don’t know. But, again, to pay Shakur $15M…financially it’s not viable. So, it is what it is. And once the Saudis really left the message that they got the word from The Boss that this unlimited tap is going to stop, it was bound to happen.”
On the Shakur vs Devin fight falling apart
“The fight fell apart, but essentially it fell apart is because DAZN had promised [Devin] Haney a certain amount of money, Zuffa had promised Shakur a certain amount of money, and it wasn’t a match because that money didn’t exist in the fight that they would have…Would the fight have justified the money being put up? Because otherwise nobody wants to break their ass doing a fight, promoting a fight, and ending up facing an absolute possibility that you’re going to lose money.”
On his prediction for the business once the Saudi money evaporates
“Looking at the past when this happened, and in boxing it happens all the time, the market then settles and fighters fight for what’s available and we get some very good fights that still go on and life continues. But how it’s going to come out after this, where we had so much money being put into the sport not existing, how is the sport going to continue? It’s going to continue, but how is it going to continue, I don’t know.
“Remember, [Al] Haymon came in when he had that deal with the mutual fund with hundreds of millions of dollars, and all he accomplished was pissing it away. So, again, I have the experience and I’ve been around enough not to say definitively what’s going to happen because I don’t know like nobody else does. I have an idea but again, it’s just an idea and not worth talking about. All I know is that the sport will continue, there will be great fights being made. How everybody will be compensated remains to be seen but that’s in the future.“
On Ryan Garcia saying he’s going to fight Floyd Mayweather for the WBC title
“Will people be interested in it? I don’t know. I know Floyd [Mayweather] needs the money ‘cause he’s pissed away tons of the money that he made. I mean, he blames Haymon for that, he blames this for that, but ultimately I blame him for pissing it away. Will Garcia vs Mayweather generate money? Will it generate enough money to satisfy these guys? I don’t know. I think there will be limited interest in a fight where you have a young guy at the peak of his boxing prowess fighting an old man, which Mayweather has now become.”
On the Eddie Hearn vs Dana White beef over promoting Fury vs AJ, and Hearn insisting White can’t be involved
“Well, that’s right. Eddie [Hearn] is correct. Frank [Warren] and I have a contract with [Tyson] FuryEddie has a contract with [Anthony] Joshua. Dana has a contract with nobody. But if Dana wanted to be involved with the fight, be my guest. I mean, the money is the money. The Saudis are putting up the bulk of the money in that fight. They’ll do a good gate, get back some of it. But again, what do I care? What should anybody care?”
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