Boxing in the wake of Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury 2

The rematch between Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury received a lot more attention than most fights. Now that the dust has settled, here’s its impact.

On Saturday, Feb. 22, Las Vegas served as the perfect setting for the rematch between Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury. In a gambling world where you either walk away as an elated winner or a dejected loser, boxing and its participants had a lot riding on this bout.

After Fury’s round 7 TKO of Wilder, Fury, his entourage, and many fans raged until dawn at the ecstasy winning the WBC heavyweight title and securing the position as the best heavyweight in the world.

Team Wilder and his supporters were stunned not just by the loss, but by the beating that the Bronze Bomber took at the fists of the Gypsy King. Instead of an after-party, Wilder was treated by a doctor backstage while lying prone on a table. He later traveled to the hospital, bloodied and dispirited. Many of his fans attempted to solemnly drink their sadness away at various bars inside the MGM Grand.

Immediately after the bout, boxing fans and pundits tried to analyze what’s next. Will there be a trilogy bout between Fury and Wilder, or will there be a full unification match between Fury and Anthony Joshua? That answer is a bit muddled at the moment.

Wilder stated that he wants an immediate rematch that could come in July. Following Wilder vs. Fury 2, DAZN tweeted a graphic of Joshua and Fury in the ring. Matchroom Boxing’s Eddie Hearn wants Fury vs. Joshua, and so does much of the world.

Fury’s co-promoter Frank Warren raised the possibility of paying Wilder step-aside money to make Fury vs. Joshua happen. All are legitimate possibilities, but the business end has to be hashed out quickly. Wilder’s team has to exercise their rematch clause within 30 days after the loss to Fury.

“It would be expensive – but who knows. The only way you find it is if you try,” Warren told The Telegraph about the prospect of paying Wilder to pass up the rematch clause.

Time will tell what happens next in this heavyweight soap opera. Since Wilder vs. Fury 2, a lot of information has been pumped out through the media. Wilder and his team have made multiple excuses for Wilder’s poor showing in what appears to be a calculated PR campaign that’s falling flat on its face to boxing fans.

Wilder told Yahoo.com and other media sources that his ring-walk costume was partially to blame for his performance against Fury.

“He [Fury] didn’t hurt me at all, but the simple fact is … that my uniform was way too heavy for me,” Wilder told Yahoo on Feb. 24. “I didn’t have no legs from the beginning of the fight.”

Wilder told The Athletic that he wasn’t pleased with referee Kenny Bayless’s performance during the bout. He felt Bayless allowed Fury to hit him behind the head.

Wilder then voiced his displeasure with co-trainer Mark Breland’s decision to throw in the towel in round 7 to BoxingScene.com. He even stated that Breland was influenced by Anthony Dirrell, who is trained by Fury’s cornerman Javan “SugarHill” Steward.

Wilder specifically told BoxingScene.com:

"And then getting influenced by the opposite team, one of the guys that train with the opposite trainer, you know, it makes you think. He [Breland] was influenced by [Anthony] Dirrell. They said [Anthony] Dirrell was in back of him screaming, ‘Throw the towel in! We love our champ!’ And, you know, [Anthony] works with ‘Sugar’ as well, the opposite trainer, Tyson’s trainer. [Dirrell] works with him [Steward], too."

Wilder doth protest too much. It’s disappointing to see the former WBC heavyweight champion grasp at weak excuses for his performance. At the weigh-in before the fight, Wilder appeared to be in the best condition of his life. At a cut 231 pounds, Wilder seemed to be a titan who would blast out the flabby Fury. Instead, Fury changed the script when he fought Wilder with a new power-punching, aggressive style.

The excuses coming from Wilder are laughable. It’s unfair that a boxer gets judged based on one poor performance. It’s even worse to see Wilder feel the need to employ a multitude of excuses for his loss. Most of the all-time greats have numerous losses on their record. Wilder is entitled one.

People on social media are quick to criticize Wilder as being a bum or being exposed. They have no clue how skilled Wilder, Fury, and the rest of the top-tier heavyweights in the world are. The heavyweight division is filled with talented boxers, and the next great undisputed champion could be lurking under the radar.

Numbers for the Wilder vs. Fury 2 pay-per-view are starting to come out. The Athletic’s Mike Coppinger was the first to releases an initial range of 800,000-850,000 PPV buys. The number is short of Bob Arum’s prediction of 1 million buys, but it’s still exceedingly high for boxing and should be celebrated as a success.

Wilder vs. Fury 2 helped rejuvenate boxing’s allure. Most people were buzzing days after the contest asking friends and co-workers, ” did you see the fight?” It’s been a long time since a boxing match resonated with so many people.

The only thing that needs to change is how people interpret the sweet science. The mindset towards boxing shouldn’t be to demoralize the fighter who loses. It’s a brutal sport that’s arguably the most dangerous in existence. The greats in every sport fail at some point. It’s just sad that the loser in a boxing match often feels so intimidated by the public’s judgment that they feel the need to justify a loss with pretense. This shortcoming might belong to boxing fans as much as it does to Wilder or his team.