I've always felt that Tyson has the kind of freak bodyshape where his decline will be immediate and overnight, and not gradual. I won't be surprised if Whyte manages to whack him with a hail mary left hook and we're looking at the upset of the decade.
.... And then when people look back it will be "who did Fury actually beat, anyway?" Happens every time.
70-30 or 65-35 in favor of Fury for me. But Fury is very beatable. The thing is can Whyte make it competitive? If he had any chin left i think he can, but the question is,is his chin pure china now, after the guge beating AJ gave him, and the huge KO by Povetkin. If Whyte chin can handle Fury punches, Whyte will have his chances, and he can definitely KO Fury. But if Whyte chin is gone Fury will easily KO him.
I'd be extremely surprised. Fury isn't at that point yet (decline) and I think Whytes punch resistance is likely gone or taken a huge downturn. Whyte simply isn't good enough to beat a motivated Fury. And it'll take a lot more than 1 left hook.
You might be right about that. Fury's a fat saggy guy who has abused his body. He's 33 now, but with his lifestyle choices in the past, he's equivalent of 40. I think he'll batter Whyte but one of these days it will all catch up with him suddenly.
Lots of heavies get old man strength/toughness. Foreman/Ali etc....Fury is no different, now that he fights at his natural weight in excess of 270 pounds. The worry with Fury was once his legs go that will be it but he's proven he doesn't even needs his feet, he is so big he can maul guys to death. Once Fury loses his workrate that's when it's game over because he doesn't have natural power. His feet haven't looked great recently but that's more down to a choice. Wilder has the best longevity prospect of the lot. He will be champ again if he times himself right over the next 4 years IF he is motivated to continue.
Fury needs to get his defensive game back on track, whoever he fights. He was reckless in his last fight and it's crazy to think he'll always be able to get up in time if he gets knocked down. At 275 pounds it's amazing he can get up at "9" at all. That bit won't get any easier. Of course, Wilder probably hits harder than the rest, but maybe Fury's punch resistance will deplete too. It's just best not to get hit square on like that at heavyweight. I don't give Whyte much chance at all. But I want to see Fury in better form than last time.
The thing with Wilder is he's so long and explosive no matter how good you are defensively the odds are stacked in his favour that he can land that fatal blow. First Wilder fight Fury was slippery as he could be but he still almost got caught out. I think Whyte is perfect because Fury will instinctively & easily get back to his lateral movement and long range work. Wilder for all his flaws wasn't exactly the most hittable guy either, he's spent a lot of his ring time using his height defensively. His footspeed wasn't quite good as Fury but it was still effective enough to not allow Fury a free for all.
I suspect Fury will flatten Whyte in a few rounds. 6 or less, maybe 2. Which is probably a better outcome for Whyte than the other likely outcome, a prolonged beating, corner pull out/quit on stool type ending.
That's a bold claim. I'd honestly really like to see it happen, but I don't think Wilder has the mental strength to make it happen.
People have severely underrated Wilder since the trilogy. It's a testament as to how good Fury is. I'm still convinced Wilder knocks Usyk out if they fought. He will eat one of those right hands at some point and he ain't getting up.
Whyte won't make it 12. If that long. It's a "cool off" fight after the tough 2 against Wilder. Most champs do that.