Wilder could have just kept milking out his WBC belt. Instead he called out fury daring him to get in shape so they can have a legacy fight. They had a draw, and once again Wilder could have just disappeared taking on non threatening opponents. He kept himself busy fighting Ortiz, who people said he'd be too scared to fight, and had wanted to have an immediate rematch with fury but fury wanted more time to shake off the rust and have tune ups. Wilder then loses in one of the most 1 sided beatings of a champion since Dempsey vs Willard. Despite this, he activated his rematch clause and even took Fury to court demanding he honor their contract. Despite being 40 lbs lighter and being Fury's inferior in skill, stamina, ring IQ, and just about everything else except raw power, he gave it his all and wanted desperately to avenge his loss. He did far better than the previous match despite being written off and earned Fury's respect in a sloppy, but very entertaining war with both men badly hurt and giving their all. Meanwhile Canelo announces hell move up to light heavyweight. Out of all the available contenders and belt holders, he conveniently picks the weakest link: a shot, gunshy, weak chinned Kovalev. What's next for Canelo? People want him to fight Benavaidez, Charlo, Andrade, etc but he chooses skilled but vastly inexperienced and lighter hitting Plant, then leaves the division behind once again knowing good and damn well there's unfinished business there. So he returns to light heavy and once again picks the champion perceived as less threatening. Bivol had a low KO% and wasn't all that entertaining to watch, and that's why he chose him over Beterbiev, let's be brutally honest. He showed bivol no respect, had zero head or upper body movement, didn't make any adjustments, and got tagged and comprehensively outboxed in a stunning upset (in spite of having the first 4 rounds paid for). Canelo, being the sore loser, still won't acknowledge he lost even though Ray Charles could see he won 3 rounds at best. So spare me the Canelo was daring to be great narrative. The guy had some good wins and amazing skill, no doubt. But he's a diva and has often strategically maneuvered his way around the divisions he competes in. This was a cherry pick gone wrong.
You're being ridiculous! Wilder was very carefully matched for years. The only reason he fought Fury the first time was because his handlers believed Fury would be shot after the 100 lb. weight gain and loss, mental health problems and long lay off. Wilder fought faded guys like Arreola and Stiverne and limited journeymen like Breazeale, Duhaupas, Spilka and Washington. He refused to unify with Klitschko, Joshua, and with Parker (when he had the WBO). Canelo fought Mayweather, Golovkin, all the top fighters at 168, and recently undefeated 175 champion Bivol.
Wilder dared to be great? Sat on a belt for 5 years without defending to anyone of note. Only picked Fury beacuse he had gone upto 400lb and had substance and alcohol abuse. Fury was a cherry pick as he was a name with claim to lineal and seen as damaged goods. At no time in Wilder's reign did he attempt to either take out other top challengers or to unify against Joshua. Vlad or Parker etc. Wilder shouldn't get credit for hindsight when he arguably lost all three fights. As much as Canelo fans are asinine and deluded. Canelo himself has done so much more than Wilder it's completely demented to think otherwise.
In Deontay Wilder’s own words “This man was in the worse situation in his life, contemplating suicide, broke. I REACHED OUT TO HIM. He wasn’t lined up to have that shot. He DIDN’T DESERVE TO HAVE THAT SHOT.” Horrible cherrypick gone terribly wrong.
Even if it's true he fought fury thinking it would be easy, the rematch ended in a disaster, a one sided beat down, and he STILL tried to fight him. That's daring to be great!
I'm comparing their most recent performances, not their entire careers. Obviously canelo had a way better resume. It doesn't matter if you think wilder only fought fury thinking it would be a cake walk. If Wilder was just a fraud looking for the easy way out, he would NOT have kept fighting him over and over.
THIS. We all knew that Wilder only really had a puncher's chance. He was dominated by Ortiz and looked like a rank amateur in beating Stiverne. That he ignored all this and took on Fury should be commended, especially after the 2nd fight.
