Warren: What Happens When Fury Drops Wilder? Will He Get Up?

LAS VEGAS – Frank Warren knows Tyson Fury is more than capable of getting up if Deontay Wilder knocks him down Saturday night.

Fury’s co-promoter watched his fighter overcome two knockdowns during their first fight in December 2018 at Staples Center in Los Angeles. Warren was as surprised as anyone that Fury withstood Wilder’s devastating right-left combination early in the 12th round, but Fury’s commendable comeback in the final two minutes of their controversial split draw makes the veteran promoter confident Fury can take Wilder’s power in their 12-round rematch Saturday night at MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Warren considers that an advantage for Fury because Wilder hasn’t shown how he’ll react if he gets knocked down during a championship fight.

“What’s gonna happen when [Wilder] goes down?,” Warren asked a group of reporters prior to a press conference Wednesday at MGM Grand. “Because [Fury] can get up. What happens when [Wilder] goes down? Will he get up?”

England’s Fury (29-0-1, 20 KOs) views Wilder as an insecure bully who won’t react well if Fury floors him in their rematch.

“He hasn’t shown he can go down and get back up before,” Fury said. “So, we’ll test him in this fight, see what he’s really made out of. All good champions can go to the canvas and get back up and win. So, we’ll test Deontay Wilder this time, for sure.”

Wilder demonstrated resilience and toughness when Luis Ortiz hurt him with about 40 seconds to go in the seventh round of their first fight in March 2018. The unbeaten WBC champion used the eighth round to recover, eventually regained control, dropped the previously unbeaten Ortiz twice more in the 10th round and stopped him.

The 34-year-old Wilder (42-0-1, 41 KOs) hasn’t hit the canvas since journeyman Harold Sconiers scored a knockdown against him in the first round of Wilder’s 13th professional fight. Wilder got up from that knockdown and stopped Sconiers in the fourth round of a scheduled six-rounder in October 2010.

Sconiers entered his fight against Wilder with a record of 17-20-2.

Seven bouts before Fury survived two knockdowns versus Wilder, he got up from a second-round knockdown to stop Steve Cunningham in the seventh round of their April 2013 bout. Four fights prior to overcoming Cunningham, Fury survived a second-round knockdown to stop Neven Pajkic in the third round of their November 2011 fight. 

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.