Tyson Fury Believes He & Deontay Wilder Beat Andy Ruiz ‘Quite Comfortably’
It’s a two horse race in boxing’s heavyweight division according to Tyson Fury.
The lineal heavyweight champion comes off a second-round TKO victory over Tom Schwarz in Las Vegas last night (Sat. June 15, 2019). Fury put on quite the show with his spectacular finish over the formerly undefeated German prospect. Speaking in his post-fight press conference, Fury was asked about his eventual rematch against WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder.
When the rematch finally takes place, “The Gypsy King” says Wilder will be fighting a version of Tyson Fury that is at 100 percent:
“”Deontay Wilder is coming,” Fury said. “This fight is going to happen. There were three horses in the heavyweight division. And then there were two, and I’ve already beaten one. So I’ll beat him again, and again, and again, and again. And he ain’t gonna fight 50 percent Tyson Fury anymore.
“”He’s gonna get a fully match fit, back active, back sharp, Tyson Fury. You know, it’s heavyweight boxing and anything can happen at any given moment, but the way I box and my style, I think it’s kryptoine for anybody, as long as they don’t knock me out, which you’ve seen can happen. But you’ve got to keep me down. If you don’t do that, I’m going to keep winning.”
Fury and Wilder put on a classic in their initial meeting last December. Despite out-boxing Wilder for 12 rounds, Fury was planted to the canvas twice, nearly being finished in the 12th round with a hellacious shot. However, the Englishman was able to get back to his feet, and seemingly win the round.
The judges rendered a Draw on their scorecards, but in a rematch, fight fans expect to see a clear winner now that both men have had the chance to download their adversary’s tendencies. In Fury’s eyes, his rematch with Wilder is the biggest fight in boxing, bar none:
“I think it’s the biggest fight in the world of boxing, barring none,” Fury said. “””Deontay Wilder – Tyson Fury, the rematch, is the biggest fight you’re going to see in the next years, next few years anyway. I don’t see anyone else coming up who can beat two undefeated heavyweights, one champion – WBC champion, fighting in their prime. It doesn’t get any bigger than this.”
Another man to keep an eye out for in the heavyweight division is unified heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz Jr. He pulled off a major upset when he handed Anthony Joshua the first loss of his professional career. When Fury was asked about a possible fight against the Mexican-American champion, he responded by reminding Ruiz is tied up in a contract to rematch Joshua.
However, if their paths ever should cross inside the ring, Fury believes he and Wilder beat Ruiz quite easily:
“No disrespect to Andy Ruiz, he’s done great performance, but he’s locked into a contract with Joshua,” Fury said. “So, I don’t consider him a part of this two horse race now. I think me and Wilder beat Andy Ruiz quite comfortably.”
Despite his feelings on the matchup, should Ruiz defeat Joshua in their rematch, Fury fully expects the winner of his own rematch against Wilder to face the unified champion:
“Yeah, 100 percent. If he beats Joshua in the rematch, he’s next in line,” Fury said. “Whoever wins out of me and Wilder will fight Andy Ruiz. I don’t see why these fights shouldn’t be made. I see nothing of Andy Ruiz that makes me afraid. I’m thinking it’d be a good fight, a good matchup as well.”
Before a rematch with Wilder can happen, “The Bronze Bomber” must get through former foe Luis Ortiz first. The pair first fought back in March of 2018. Ortiz nearly finished Wilder in the early rounds, however, the former football star was able to rally and finish the Cuban slugger in the 10th round.
Now, Wilder will be rematching the man who gave him the most trouble inside the squared circle, but Fury finds no reason for concern. He believes Wilder has what it takes to get the job done against Ortiz early in the fight:
“It doesn’t concern me, like I’ve said before, Luis Ortiz is 147 years old,” Fury said. “So, Wilder should knock him out quicker than he did last time. I believe Wilder will get him out of there in a couple of rounds. Catch him early, and gone. Got no legs underneath, like I said, he’s 147 years old. It was a clash of styles before the first time, probably fought southpaw, it was experience, so, I think he’ll get him out of there quite quick.
“I’m not concerned. Even if the worst does happen, Wilder gets chinned in a round – when a door closes, another one opens. What’s meant to be will be. We can’t alter what’s going to happen in the future. We have no control of it. So, I only can control myself and do what I’ve got to do for my end of the deal, and I’ll look to do that in October the fifth or September 21, whichever one we go with. And I can only do what I can do as a fighter to prevent it from happening to me.“
Check out Fury’s full post-fight press conference here: