🥊 Fury Vs. Wilder II Already Packs A Punch

Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder got the hype train rolling this week with a lively press conference. The show is just as important as the fight. [View in browser]( [FOX SPORTS INSIDER WITH MARTIN ROGERS] In today’s FOX Sports Insider: The latest boxing superfight will be heavy on spectacle ... Tom Brady unwittingly(?) keeps fans guessing ... and the Tokyo Olympics are already off to a strong start. Hype and boxing go hand in hand, which is why Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury won’t step into the ring to face one another a second time until there has been a month or more of colorful invective flying between the pair. The rematch, featuring the two heavyweight giants on Feb. 22 in Las Vegas, will possibly turn out to be the most important boxing contest of 2020. It’s a hotly-anticipated reboot of a classic draw 13 months ago, and a meeting that will go a long way towards shaping the immediate future of the heavyweight division. The outcome of the fight itself won’t be known until the protagonists step into the ring at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, of course. What boxing hopes and prays for is something along the lines of their prior classic, which saw Fury dominate before surviving a late Wilder bomb that would have knocked out a comic book supervillain. However, between now and then, fight fans and the general sporting public will be treated to a heavy dose of what is perhaps best described as personality-driven verbal warfare. As adept as they are at pugilism, both men know how to talk an outstanding game, and that hype train is a huge part of combat sports in the 21st century. [STORY IMAGE 1] Wilder and Fury kicked off their media tour with an event in Los Angeles this week, and as expected, pulled no punches. There was something for everyone, as both men remain unmatched in providing the perfect soundbite. “Deontay Wilder hasn’t been returning my calls or messages since last time,” Fury said. “He’s trying to keep his distance. He didn’t want to be around me so I can get in his head. “He’s going to try to (end it with) the right hand. If I’m stupid enough to get hit with it, I deserve to lose. I hit the floor twice in the first fight, but it’s all about how you respond. I’m a fighting man. If he can’t finish me, I’m going to eat him up.” It’s always brash, occasionally provocative, and is not always easy listening, but it is the kind of thing that is hard to tear yourself away from. Fury had intelligent words for the boxing purists, a delve into the thought process behind his decision to ditch former trainer Ben Davison and appoint Javan “SugarHill” Steward, nephew of the legendary Emmanuel Steward, to his corner. [STORY IMAGE 2] For the clickbait crew, there was a smattering of the bizarre, as the British fighter provided altogether too much information about his intimacy habits, which inevitably led to a burst of online headlines. Wilder’s chat is like his punches: big, loud and unforgiving. He knows his words won’t rattle Fury like they have other opponents, but they are part of his preparation by now — and of course, part of his brand. “I knocked him out the first time we fought,” he said, referencing the 12th round Staples Center knockdown that seemed to have finished Fury before he beat the count. “I told him two years ago I was going to baptize him. Rising up is part of the baptism. This is unfinished business. Because he’s in WWE, I’m going to make sure he gets knocked out of the ring, I might even come down with a flying elbow from the top rope. “I’m going to do exactly what I said I would do. I’m going to knock him out. I’m the lion. I’m the king of the jungle. I’m going to rip his head off his body.” [STORY IMAGE 3] It is only going to get louder. Pay-per-view sales are what drives a fighter’s bank balance, so there will be several more appearances around the country as the fight date draws closer. It is a bit of a guilty pleasure at times, but it’s hard to stop watching when either one of them gets into full flow. Something about human nature draws us to the characters who are unashamedly loud and forthright and utterly unafraid to extol their own virtues to the world. Muhammad Ali perfected the craft in boxing and the sport has largely followed the blueprint ever since. Modern fighters have found that a social media audience is the perfect target zone for the snappiest of soundbites, and that essentially nothing is off limits. The bigger the personality, the bigger the interest ... and the greater the spoils. In the case of Fury, who ballooned to 400 pounds and battled mental illness at the height of his career, his storyline has proved to be lucrative, and a highly-paid future in the WWE likely beckons. [STORY IMAGE 4] The truth is, however, that if a superfight amounts to a lot of bombast on the microphone, the bout itself doesn’t stack up. With this one, there is a lot behind it. Anthony Joshua may dispute the theory that these are the top two heavyweights, but following his upset defeat to Andy Ruiz (later avenged) last year, he will have to wait his turn to prove it. Wilder and Fury are in charge of the division right now and whoever prevails in Vegas will have bragging rights as top dog. It is a tremendous clash of styles, as was seen the first time around. Wilder has a monstrously fierce punch; big, heavy and violent enough to snuff the hopes of any opponent in a split second. However far behind he gets in a fight, it is always there as a looming threat, the ultimate equalizer. Fury has what seems to be the antidote: exceptional defensive skills, superior head movement and boxing ability more in tune with a fighter from the lower, speedier weight classes. It is a classic boxing matchup with a modern promotional face painted onto the front. When Wilder and Fury spout their verbal haymakers, the whole prelude sometimes seems set to descend into madness — until you remember that there is a lingering method behind it. The show before the show. [STORY IMAGE 5] Here’s what others have said ... Steve Kim, ESPN: “If you look at Wilder's record, there are many fights where he's dropped more than a few rounds early on and finds himself down on the scorecards. But Wilder has the proverbial 'eraser' (41 knockouts in 42 professional victories) that makes all of that null and void. As for Fury, he tends to perform up or down based on the level of opposition that he's facing. While there is a chance he might have overlooked Otto Wallin just a tad in his most recent fight, that won't be the case against Wilder, given the stakes.” BBC Sport: “The American's WBC title will be on the line, meaning Fury could become a world champion for the first time since 2015. Anthony Joshua holds the other three major heavyweight titles, so the winner would be in position to potentially negotiate a contest with the Briton and bid to become the first man to hold all four belts in the division. Costello added: 'How big is this fight? Fury's promoter Bob Arum has been talking about it being the most significant for the division for 20 years. That's something I agree with. One reporter has said it's the most significant since the the rematch of Holyfield vs. Mike Tyson in 1997.'” Kevin Iole, Yahoo Sports: “Boxing history has shown that the antidote to the kind of punching power Wilder brings is exactly what Fury does every time out: A stiff jab, good head and shoulder movement, light feet, an ability to control the distance and the ability to slip punches. Fury, though, insisted that he is going to try to knock Wilder out, and while that idea and that game plan may seem far-fetched to some, there is at least some logic behind it. He’s concerned that he won’t be able to get a decision in the U.S. over a high-profile American fighter like Wilder. He feels he routed Wilder in their first bout, on Dec. 1, 2018, but one of the three judges actually scored more rounds for Wilder than he did for Fury.” [IN OTHER WORDS] - Over at Banner Society, Alex Kirshner explores [an alternate history where USC hired Ed Orgeron in 2013](. - Shiel Kapadia at The Athletic [hands out awards and superlatives for the NFL divisional round]( from “most clutch play” to “biggest overreaction.” - Dime Mag’s Bill DiFilippo and Martin Rickman explain [how Anthony Davis’ stellar fourth quarters allow LeBron James to thrive late in games](. [THE BRADY HUNCH] [THE BRADY HUNCH]( Welcome to The Brady Hunch, FOX Sports Insider’s daily feature dedicated to tracking the comings and goings of the NFL’s hottest free agent, Tom Brady. Don't say you weren't warned. Just a day after the latest rumors linking Tom Brady to a Patriots exit surfaced, the opposite happened on Tuesday. A promotional video for Under Armour was released featuring Brady in a New England helmet and uniform. It doesn't mean anything definitive, of course, but that didn't stop plenty of excitement in the Boston area speculating that it meant the QB was committed to a Gillette Stadium return. [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED] [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED]( You’ll be forgiven if you’re not quite yet fully aware of the social media platform TikTok or what it’s for, but content creators and youths are already loving it and showing off short-form creativity we haven’t seen since the heyday of Vine. The Olympic Channel has launched an official TikTok account in advance of the Tokyo Olympics this summer, and if the above video is anything to go by, we’re already off to a fantastic start. A human Olympic rings logo? Now that’s a creative feat of athleticism! [VIEWER'S GUIDE] No. 18 Seton Hall at No. 5 Butler (FS1, 6:30 p.m. ET) College football may be done, but jumpstart your dive back into men’s college hoops with this Wednesday night matchup between two Top 25 teams. WWE NXT (USA Network, 8 p.m. ET) There will be two first-round matches in the 2020 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Tournament, including the NXT debut of Alex Shelley. In other action, there will be a battle royal to determine the next challenger for Rhea Ripley’s NXT Women’s Championship. [BET OF THE DAY] [BET OF THE DAY] Odds provided by [FOX Bet]( Philadelphia Flyers and St. Louis Blues to both score at least 3 goals in regulation: +175 A hockey bet! The defending NHL champion Blues will host the Flyers on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET and both teams have been on a scoring tear as of late. The Blues have scored three goals or more in 10 of their last 11 games, while the Flyers have scored at least three in five of their last seven. It might just be a good old-fashioned shootout between these two squads. [WHAT THEY SAID] "If you work hard in training, the fight is easy." — Manny Pacquiao [FOLLOW FOX SPORTS] [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [YouTube]( [Instagram]( Download the FOX Sports app for live scores and streaming [App Store]( [Google Play]( Available on: [tvOS] [Roku] [fireTV] [androidtv] [XBOX] [Google chromecast] [tvOS] [Roku] [fireTV] [androidtv] [XBOX] [Google chromecast] Forwarded this message? [Sign up](. Trademark & Copyright Notice: ™ and © 2020 FOX Media LLC and FOX Sports Interactive Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Please do not reply to this message. If you do not wish to receive emails like this in the future, please [unsubscribe](. FOX Sports respects your privacy. Click [here]( to view our Privacy Policy. FOX.com Business & Legal Affairs - Manager Digital Media P.O. Box 900 Beverly Hills, CA 90213-0900