By Keith Idec
Hughie Fury figures his cousin will defeat Deontay Wilder handily in their rematch early next year.
But after watching Tyson Fury settle for a draw with Wilder in their first fight, Hughie Fury feels the last thing Tyson Fury should do is allow their rematch to go the distance.
“He’s gotta knock him out,” Hughie Fury told BoxingScene.com on Thursday in London. “Definitely gotta knock him out to get the win.”
Tyson Fury survived two knockdowns, one apiece in the ninth and 12th rounds, during his 12-round fight with Wilder on December 1 at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The lineal heavyweight champion otherwise out-boxed Wilder, but only one judge, Robert Tapper, scored their 12-round fight for Fury (114-112).
Another judge, Alejandro Rochin, scored it for Wilder (115-111). The third judge, Phil Edwards, had it even (113-113).
“I do reckon that Tyson will beat him easy again, because it was only just with that last punch [in the 12th round that Wilder got a draw],” said Hughie Fury, who’ll fight Alexander Povetkin on Saturday night at O2 Arena in London. “But if Tyson keeps away, or, you never know, it could be a different story this time and he could finish [Wilder] early.”
Tyson Fury (28-0-1, 20 KOs) and Wilder (41-0-1, 40 KOs), the WBC champion, must win one bout apiece to reach their rematch, tentatively scheduled for February 22 at a site to be determined.
England’s Fury is scheduled to face Swedish southpaw Otto Wallin (20-0, 13 KOs, 1 NC) in a 12-rounder September 14 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Wilder is expected to box Cuban southpaw Luis Ortiz (31-1, 26 KOs, 2 NC) in the first of what would be back-to-back rematches November 23.
The scheduled 12-round battle between Hughie Fury (23-2, 13 KOs) and Russia’s Povetkin (34-2, 24 KOs) will be part of the Vasiliy Lomachenko-Luke Campbell undercard Saturday night. The Lomachenko-Campbell and Fury-Povetkin fights will be streamed in the United States by ESPN+ (1 p.m. EDT/10 a.m. PDT) and televised via pay-per-view by Sky Sports Box Office in the United Kingdom (6 p.m. BST; £19.95).
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.