HAGLER FAVORS WILDER, KLITSCHKO AND TYSON CHOSE FURY
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 19 Feb 2020
Former world champion Marvin Hagler hopes that Deontay Wilder would prevail over Tyson Fury so he can face Anthony Joshua in a heavyweight unification bout. WBC champion Wilder and Fury fought in a controversial draw at Staples Center in December 2018, with Fury knocked down twice and surprisingly was able to get up from the canvas in a dramatic twelfth round. Both undefeated protagonists will renew their rivalry at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on Saturday.
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The former undisputed middleweight champion hopes it proves to be a significant step towards the American meeting IBF, WBA, IBO and WBO king Joshua in the ring. “It’s great to see the heavyweights come back into the picture again, because they’ve been out of focus for a long time,” Hagler was quoted by Omnisport.
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Hagler described Fury as a boxer who "bring a lot of excitement" and Wilder as a type of person "who’s unpredictable" because you really don’t know what kind of style he’s going to come into the fight with. Hagler believes this time that Wilder is going to make sure that if he gets Fury down, he’s not going to get up. He would like to see Wilder and Anthony Joshua, because that fight is "way overdue." Hagler added: "I don’t think now it’s about money, it’s a personal thing between the two of them: who wants to be champion of the world?”
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Former unified heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko would like to see his former opponent Fury defeat Wilder on Saturday. Fury shocked the boxing world when he upset the Ukrainian heavyweight ruler and took his belts via twelve round unanimous in Düsseldorf, Germany in November 2015. But Fury was having depression and substance abuse issues, which had him stop fighting for over two and a half years.
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Klitschko wants Fury to prevail over Wilder this time. "I fought Fury and I sparred with Wilder. Knowing those guys, both as people and in the ring, I believe either Fury will win on points — or he will be knocked out. It all depends on the mental shape Fury is in. It’s not about the physical shape," Klitschko told The Sun.
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Klitschko recalled he was training for a rematch with Fury that never happened because the Englishman was into cocaine and some other issues. He thinks Fury is unstable with his discipline. "As a boxer, I would say Fury is really awkward, because of his size and the way he moves. He is very mobile for a big man, very mobile. Wilder is pretty different too. They have different styles, different backgrounds and will be at different weights. Everything is different. So I don’t want to say who has the better style. That is questionable, " added Klitschko.
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Former world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson is a great fan of Tyson Fury. Fury's father named him after the heavyweight boxing legend Tyson. Tyson is also a fan of Wilder, who has knocked out every fighter in the span of his career - except Fury. "I like both of them as fighters,” said Tyson as quoted by BT Sport. “They both came from nothing and achieved becoming heavyweight champion. You have to respect that. I was in their position one time,” said the former champion. In the first fight, he was rooting for Tyson Fury. "I always pulled for him because he was named after me. That is the natural thing to do, right?" recalled Tyson.
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Tyson added he was always biased toward Fury because he is very likable and a nice person. The Hall of Famer just kept seeing him beating decent fighters. "I didn’t know if they were washed up or throwing the fights because Tyson did not look like he should be beating them. But he was and he was laughing at them. That made me a fan. He is so much better than what he appears to be and looks like."
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Just like many other who saw the first fight, he was astounded when Fury survived the twelfth and final round in December 2018. Fury was dropped and it seemed that it was the end of it. But everybody was shocked when he was able to rise up and continued fighting ending the fight in a draw.
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Tyson compared to Rocky Balboa what Fury did in the final round of the first match. “He amazed a lot of people by getting up. He showed he is tough. He got up and won the final round. I thought it was over, then he got up and it was like Rocky. He then fought back. It was amazing, it made me a fan. It takes great fortitude and belief,” Tyson continued.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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