There’s a saying in boxing, that those who know the sport like to say: Styles Make Fights and that’s why Fury-Wilder 3 is must-watch! Promoters love it because it helps them sell a fight. It opens the door for upsets. In short, it’s the boxing version of football’s “Any Given Sunday.”
Boxers are like pokemon. There are 3 basic styles of fighters, and each type matches up differently with the other styles. Boxers who like to dance, keep their distance, and pick their shots tend to do well against slower, powerful sluggers, who can’t match their pace. Those sluggers do best against aggressive in-fighters, who come into range and do half of their work for them, but can’t match the slugger shot for shot. Finally, those aggressive in-fighters have the speed to keep up with the dancers, and enough power to overwhelm them.
There are of course many other factors that come into play, such as height, reach, weight, speed, technique, age, and experience. Boxing puritans (like myself) enjoy watching intriguing stylistic pairings play out over the course of a bout. Most casual boxing fans enjoy the highlights: big punches, knockdowns, and of course, knockouts. Saturday’s card has the potential to be one of the most explosive we’ve seen in quite some time, so make sure you get to Amherst Ale House to watch Fury-Wilder 3 with The Wrecking Crew!
The Undercard
Before the main card even gets started, the prelims feature Elvis Rodriguez(11-1-1, 10 KOs) who is one of the most exciting prospects in the sport and Edgar Berlanga(17-0, 16 KOs), who started his career with 16-straight 1st-round KOs. Also on the card is former light middleweight world champion, Julian Williams(27-2-1, 1 NC, 16 KOs). It’s unbelievable that a fighter of his caliber is relegated to a preliminary bout. In fact, all three of these boxers belong on main cards. This just happens to be the most stacked card of boxing in a long time. Honestly, the four heavyweight bouts that make up the main card could all very realistically end before round six.
Anderson vs Tereshkin
First off, Jared Anderson(9-0, 9 KOs) has been touted as the next great American heavyweight and he’s already delivered some terrific knockouts. Anderson is still quite rough around the edges, which opens the door for Vladimir Tereshkin(22-0-1, 12 KOs), a 14-year veteran who is coming off a layoff of almost two years. Anderson is very stiff and doesn’t have great footwork, so there’s plenty to pick apart. However, if ring rust is any issue for Tereshkin, Anderson has the power to make it a quick night.
Helenius vs Kownacki 2
Second, it’s a rematch between Polish contender Adam Kownacki(20-1, 15 KOs) and the longtime journeyman who upset him, Robert Helenius(30-3, 19 KOs). A decade ago, Helenius reached his peak as he was named the #10 heavyweight in the world by BoxRec. Now, at 37, he’ll look to prove that their first bout wasn’t a fluke. Things move slow in the heavyweight division, and at 32, Kownacki needs a win to get him back on the fast track to a title shot before his best years are gone.
Ajagba vs Sanchez
Next are two of the best unbeaten up-and-comers in the division. Frank Sanchez(18-0, 13 KOs) is a tactical Cuban fighter, while Efe Ajagba(15-0, 12 KOs) is a powerful knockout artist who still has some exploitable weaknesses in his technique. Sanchez will likely try to keep things slow and stack individual rounds to win on the cards, but Ajagba is a dangerous finisher who can pop off at any moment.
Fury-Wilder 3
Finally, the main event is the third installment of Tyson Fury(30-0-1, 21 KOs) vs Deontay Wilder(42-1-1, 41 KOs). Wilder has awful technique, but he is arguably the greatest one punch knockout artist boxing has ever seen. It wouldn’t be a stretch to call his right hand the most dangerous weapon in the history of combat sports.
Across the ring though, is the man responsible for the only 2 blemishes on what would otherwise be perhaps the greatest record in championship boxing history. At 6-foot-9 and upwards of 300 lbs, Fury is a mountain of a man, yet he fights like a man half his size. He uses his massive reach to control range, and most of his punches look much softer than they could be, which likely helps preserve his stamina. However, he planted his feet and used his significant weight advantage to beat Wilder in their second fight, and is rumored to have added an additional 20 pounds for this bout.
Even before this fight, I’d long suspected that Wilder had a weak chin. There just hadn’t been a fighter durable enough to test him, until now. Fury might be the first boxer able to withstand the power of Wilder, but don’t think that means he’s immune to it. Fury has always been the better boxer, but Wilder is still the harder puncher. Their first fight was a draw.
Fury won the second fight, but he had Covid over the summer, causing this third installment to be postponed. Wilder fired his trainer after the second fight in February 2020, and he’s had a year and a half to improve his technique. Tyson Fury has outclassed just about every boxer he’s ever met, while everyone who’s faced Deontay Wilder has succumbed to his power at some point. Neither man has fought anyone else since fall of 2019, and there’s no love lost between them. These are two bitter rivals, and they’ll be out for blood, literally.
Predictions
Elvis Rodriguez by KO round 7
Julian Williams by UD
Edgar Berlanga by KO round 4
Jared Anderson by KO round 6
Adam Kownacki by UD
Efe Ajagba by KO round 7
Deontay Wilder by KO round 11
Be sure to follow myself for live analysis of the fights and stay tuned to Trainwreck Sports for more Fight Night coverage!
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