Showtime Saturday 745 ET
Light Heavyweight Title
-This title fight will be shown on Showtime from Canada before the pay per view starts from California at 9 for Tyson Fury-Deontay Wilder. If you do not want to pay for that then you will at least get a good title fight for free. And I think this will be a very good fight. Stevenson has been champ for a while and while he has had some close calls, most notably against Fonfara in their first fight and against Badou Jack in his last title defense, he always has found a way to hold on and keep the title. I think that streak will end Saturday night. Gvodzyk is another Ukranian with a long amateur background, very solid skills and good power who has beat some very good fighters in his short 15 fight pro career. Stevenson is a one trick pony, big power in his straight left hand. To his credit it has worked for him. Gvodzyk is too good and too young and fresh to get beat by that. I think Stevenson will get some shots in and he is always dangerous, if he has anything it is big power and a big heart. But he also has a shaky chin and has faded in fights previously. I think he will get stopped Saturday night and his long title reign will be over and being in his late 30’s I think his time at the top will end also.
Prediction
Gvodzyk by KO in later rounds
Tyson Fury vs Deontay Wilder
Pay Per View
Saturday Night
- This is one of the best heavyweight fights that could be made in boxing. It seems Anthony Joshua is content to stay in England and fight anyone other than Wilder so it makes sense that Fury and Wilder get it on to show who is the man who will eventually challenge Joshua in a huge fight if he decides to do it which I think he will. There are many different possibilities in this fight and it is a tough one to call in my opinion.
Wilder is not a very skilled boxer. His balance is suspect, he throws wild punches and drops his hands in exchanges. He does have a good jab though and his biggest weapon which is his huge one punching power, especially with the right hand. If he hits anyone in the world with his best shot chances are the fight is over. The question here is will he be able to land that shot on a 6 foot 9 inch heavyweight with a good jab, good movement and unorthodox upper body movement which helps him avoid big punches. The good news for Wilder is that he has a huge heart and is the type of fighter that will go for the win and the knockout even when things are not going his way. He proved that against Luis Ortiz in his last fight which was one of the better heavyweight title fights of the past couple years.
Fury is the lineal heavyweight champion, the man who beat the man who beat the man. He lost the title after beating Klitschko for it after failing a drug test and taking several years off where he ballooned up in weight and seemed on the verge of a mental breakdown. He overcame all that, lost a ton of weight and has since won two fights in his comeback. The problem here is only having two fights against mediocre competition after a long layoff is not the best preparation to get ready for Wilder. I would have liked to have him get 1 or 2 more against a little better competition, that way we could have a better sense of where he is at. There is no denying his skills though. He is very unorthodox and it does not always look pretty but for a 6 foot 9 inch 260 pound heavyweight he moves very well with a solid jab and tricky head movement. He completely nullified Klitschko’s offense with his style and that is very hard to do.
I can see either man winning this fight. I think it is a 50/50 fight. But having to make a pick I will go with Wilder. I think Fury will frustrate him early and probably be ahead going into the second half of the fight. But Wilder will not stop throwing his bombs and I think Fury will tire in the later rounds. Two comeback fights against safe opponents will not prepare him to box 12 hard rounds against a guy like Wilder and I think at some point late in the fight Wilder will get to him.
Prediction
Wilder TKO 10
Also Friday night on ESPN+ from Australia Jeff Horn will be fighting Anthony Mundine. This is a big fight in Australia with both guys being former World Champions and it has turned into a rivalry. I have not seen much of Mundine over the years but he is older and past his best. I think Horn will be too active and will win a decision over Mundine.
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