I was thinking about this. We heard from Arum during arbitration that the process was really about money. The fact that the third fight is happening is vindication to some that Wilder wanted the fight all along, but there was an article a few weeks ago where Wilder's side was expressing shock that step-aside money was not offered. Now we have Wilder's strange behavior at the press conference... I still think he doesn't really want it. I think there are about four things that could happen, all about equally plausible: 1) He doesn't show up. Claims injury, or something. 2) Shows up and gets disqualified...claims to be loading gloves for retribution, or something. 3) Shows up, freezes, and gets knocked out quick. 4. Shows up and just swings for the fences, accepting whatever consequences come of it. There is about a 95% chance that it does not work, although a landing a lucky shot an making it a good fight is not out of the question.
Does "landing a lucky shot" actually make a good fight, though? If Fury eats it and then demolishes him again it could be mildly amusing I guess, but for whatever reason I just can't get myself hyped for this one. A flukey early KO win for Wilder isn't my idea of entertainment, and seeing a man walk away from a trilogy the 2-1 loser yet holding the belt would be pretty unjustifiable in a sporting sense. You could well be right that Wilder doesn't really want the fight, it would explain the state he's gotten himself into. The only thing I'm not quite convinced with is the idea that he'd turn up and get DQ'd for something stupid... Whether he wanted the fight or the step aside, the common factor is he wanted the money (and regardless of whether you think he deserves it, who wouldn't?!) - I'm not sure why he'd compromise that by getting himself disqualified, surely contracts will contain clauses covering this kind of thing?
Or maybe, just maybe, he really believes he was wronged and is highly motivated, pissed off snd ready to go. Of course, we know he got his hind part handed to him fair and square, but at the end of the day, all a person needs is a rational belief of something to get motivated. Doesn't matter what others think or know to be true.
Well, we all know that Fury has history to not make the rematch, so I think if anybody can pull off from this fight, it could be Fury. Wilder got nothing to lose
Irrational beliefs have been motivating humans for millennia. Beliefs definitely don't need to be rational to be motivational, they just have to feed the psyche in the right way to drive a person to do something.
Wilder is in the BIG SPOT-LIGHT so I truly expect him to go for broke. I can’t see him pulling a no show after all this legal trouble to get the fight made. I think he goes for broke and if he fails then get ready for the great excuse train. I expect this to be one of the most watched fights of the year. I will say if Wilder pulls a magic trick and wins this he will never stop talking about how he was cheated in the second fight
I think there is a certain amount of cognitive dissonance. He can somewhat convince himself that Fury cheated, but another part of his brain knows it isn't true.
He seems to have been locked away from all critical voices since the second fight and when he emerged it was with shades and headphones on and 25 minutes late. It does make you wonder whether he's able to engage with the reality of the situation.
That's relatively naive. Wilder has everything to win, but everything to lose. If he loses to Fury a second time via stoppage, his casual fans will disown him. Which is the only thing currently keeping him afloat. Should he be stopped, there is an argument he has lost all 3 fights, 2 convincingly. If he's stopped, there is no question that all of the excuses from the last fight were fabricated to cover up for his poor performance. Mark my words, if Fury KO's Wilder, it will be 2+ years before we see Wilder back in the ring against the gatekeepers. By then, his supporters/excusers would have moved on and he will have next to no pulling power. Given his mental state going into this fight, there's a good chance we don't see him again, with an unofficial retirement...
It's cute that you've popped back up to defend your hero. Glad you recovered from the weeks following the 2nd fight. I made $2800 from that fight, so thanks again.
