Promoter Lou DiBella, who worked in the past with Deontay Wilder, believes the boxer's career is at stake in the upcoming trilogy fight with WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. (photo by Ryan Hafey)
Wilder fought Fury to a controversial twelve round split draw in December of 2018. Fury was down twice the contest.
They collided for a second time in February of 2020, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. This time around, Fury dominated the action, scored two knockdowns and stopped Wilder in seven rounds.
DiBella feels that a one-sided loss would be the end for Wilder - at least when it comes to the elite level of his weight class.
“Look, his career is on the line, and he knows it. I mean, if he gets smoked again by Fury, where does he go? He’s no longer among the elite in the heavyweight division," DiBella told Secondsout.
“So whatever he wants to do right now to carry him into the fight with the greatest confidence and personal peace is probably what he should be doing."
DiBella would like to see Wilder get fully focused on a knockout victory - because he doesn't see the dangerous puncher as being capable of outboxing Fury.
“I think his strength is his best hope. He’s not outboxing Tyson Fury. He’s not. And he’s either knocking him out or beating him up. It’s virtually impossible to see him outboxing him, so physical strength is probably an important component for him," DiBella said.
“If he’s to win the fight by knockout if his puncher’s chance is to come through, his head has to be in the right place. So if part of this [training] stuff that looks weird by [trainer] Malik [Scott] and the people around him to get his head in the right space, then it’s probably smart."
