Tyson Fury (29-0-1, 20 KOs) kept his word in weighing in over 270 lbs on Friday at his weigh-in for his rematch with WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder. Fury weighed in at 273 lbs with his shirt on. Wilder (42-0-1, 41 KOs) weighed in at 231 lbs. The two didn’t have a face-off, as it was banned by the Nevada Commission because of the shoving the two fighters did last Wednesday when they faced off at the final press conference.
Both Fury and Wilder are heavier for the rematch than they were for their first fight in 2018. Fury weighed 256 lbs to Wilder’s 212 lbs for the first fight, and there was a 44 lb difference between the two. For the rematch, Fury will enjoy a slightly smaller weight advantage of 42 lbs.
It’s believed that Fury’s rationale for coming in heavier is his desire to take the fight to the inside to try and maul Wilder and keep him pinned against the ropes. In that respect, Fury would like a big offensive lineman in football shoving a smaller lineman around. If it works for Fury, he and his new trainer Sugar Hill Steward will look like geniuses. But if it fails, they’re going to be seen as having made a huge mistake.
On the face of it, it’s hard to understand why Fury would want to gain additional weight from the 256 last time he fought Wilder. Fury had success at that weight and performed reasonably well against Otto Wallin last September.
“So him coming in heavy, I think he’s coming into bang, I really do. I believe his game plan and his strategy. I’ve never seen Deontay Wilder at 230. I don’t know what to say about him at 230. I know he’s not looking to go the distance. I know that for a factor. He probably didn’t want to come into the ring underweight.
“You know 70 lbs is a lot of weight,” said Tim Bradley to ESPN on Fury’s weight. “Do you know what I’m saying? If Fury was at 270, and he was at 210. That doesn’t make any sense. He probably would have won the fight,” said Bradley on Fury in saying that he would have beaten Wilder last time if he didn’t get dropped twice. “So all he has to do is make minor adjustments. Not change the whole strategy like that.
“He’s taking emotions from the first fight because he didn’t get the victory because he felt he won,” said Bradley on Tyson’s motivation for the rematch. “He’s coming in talking about how he wants to knock a man out. When has Tyson Fury flattened a guy? Honestly, when? Movement protects against that. 270, I don’t know. He’s going to be a bigger target for Deontay Wilder.
“To be in front to deliver that punching power, you have to be directly in front of your man to do that, and you’ve got to sit down on your punches,” said Bradley on Fury. “So that can be dangerous for Tyson Fury if he stands too long in front of Deontay Wilder. In the first fight, Wilder, believe it or not, out-jabbed Fury. The reason why he [Wilder] was able to land that right hand was because of the jab. That’s the reason why,” said Bradley.
Full weigh-in results:
Charles Martin 254 vs. Gerald Washington 235.5
Emanuel Navarrete 122 lbs vs. Jeo Santisima 122 lbs.
Sebastian Fundora 153.5 vs. Daniel Lewis 153
Subriel Matias 142 vs. Petros Ananyan 142
Amir Imam 141.5 vs. Javier Molina 141.5
Gabriel Flores Jr 132.5 vs. Matt Conway 132.5
Vito Mielnicki 147 vs. Corey Champion 147
Isaac Lowe 125.5 vs. Alberto Guevara 126
Rolando Romero 137 vs. Arturs Ahmetovs 136
