Roy Jones: I Like Wilder Early, But if it Goes Late Then Fury

By Ryan Burton

Former multi-division champion and future Hall of Fame member Roy Jones spoke to BoxingScene.com and a small group of reporters in Las Vegas earlier this week on the upcoming Joseph Parker-Alexander Flores fight.  The bout takes place on December 15th in Christchurch, New Zealand.  Jones' promotional company promotes Flores.

Besides Parker-Flores, Jones was also asked about this Saturday night's WBC heavyweight championship pay-per-view event that pits the champion Deontay Wilder against the unbeaten lineal champion Tyson Fury.

Jones agrees with most boxing insiders opinion that Wilder's explosive power and Fury's problems outside of the ring and lack of recent activity give the American a distinct advantage.  He also doesn't believe that it would be smart to write off Fury, who captured the WBA/WBO/IBF/IBO titles when he dethroned the long reigning champion Wladimir Klitschko in 2015.

The biggest key that Jones sees in the fight is Fury's ability to take a punch from the hard hitting Wilder. If he can withstand Wilder's early onslaught, he believes that the UK based fighter has a an excellent shot at pulling off the upset.

"That is a good fight. I like Wilder early and if it goes late I like Fury. The reason is I know that Wilder has a heck of a punch and (Steve Cunningham) put him down. So if Wilder punches Fury early I am going to worry about if Fury can take his punches. Especially in the first three or four rounds," said Jones.

"If he can take his punches early and the fight goes past four rounds then I like Fury because I think Fury has a little bit more savvy as far as experience. Wilder only boxed for a little while as an amateur while Fury has a hell of an amateur and professional career so I think Wilder has the punching power advantage and Fury has the experience advantage. Early I like Wilder later I like Fury."

Wilder-Fury takes place on December 1st at Staples Center in Los Angeles, Calif.  The four fight pay-per-view will be distributed by Showtime and also features WBA/IBF super welterweight champion Jarrett Hurd defending his titles against Jason Welborn, 2016 Olympic silver medalist Joe Joyce versus Joe Hanks and top heavyweight contender Luis Ortiz against Travis Kauffman.

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