It didn’t take long for Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury to find the biggest stage available to hype their heavyweight rematch, which was formally announced late Friday.
Separated by 1,845 miles, Wilder was in Atlanta and Fury in Glendale, Arizona, a Phoenix suburb, to talk about a rematch that hasn’t exactly been a rumor for the last year
Each was part of ESPN’s pre-game show for college football’s championship doubleheader Saturday, first Oklahoma-Louisiana State in Atlanta and then Ohio State-Clemson in Glendale.
“I’m looking forward to setting the record straight,’’ Fury said a few hours before the scheduled kickoff.
The record, of course, is the Wilder-Fury draw more than a year ago – on Dec. 1, 2018 – at Los Angeles’ Staples Center. It was as controversial as it was dramatic, two elements that Fury promoter Bob Arum thinks can generate 2 million pay-per-view buys for the sequel at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand.
After February 22nd there will be no more unanswered questions. I will finish what I started, and this time @Tyson_Fury will not be getting up off that canvas so quickly. I’ve proven myself time and time again and I will do it again in February. #WilderFury2 pic.twitter.com/GkYSzNCBAU
— Deontay Wilder (@BronzeBomber) December 27, 2019
He got up – rose – from the canvas after a crushing, right-left combination from Wilder put him on his back in the 12th-round. The crowd roared in appreciation of Fury, especially after years of substance abuse and over-indulgence. Fury’s weight was reported to be at nearly 400 pounds months before the first fight.
“I rose from the canvas like a Phoenix from the ashes,’’ Fury said while seated in a stadium just a few miles from the desert city named after the mythic bird.
Fans loved him for his astonishing resilience. Yet, those same fans hated the scoring, a split draw for a bout in which Fury appeared to dominate most of the rounds with a superior skill set.
That skill set appears to be a factor in the opening odds for the rematch. Fury has been installed as slight favorite by William Hill, a London-based bookmaker. The U.K. heavyweight is a 13-8 favorite, meaning there’s a 60.91 percent possibility of him beating Wilder, according to the bookmaker.
Wilder, of course, has his own ideas, or at least he has a right hand. When it lands, it’s over. It’s a formula that has played out in virtually every Wilder fight other than Fury.
“After February 22nd there will be no more unanswered questions.’’ Wilder said in Tweet. “I will finish what I started, and this time @Tyson_Fury will not be getting up off that canvas so quickly. I’ve proven myself time and time again and I will do it again in February. #WilderFury2’’