LOS ANGELES - Tyson Fury had to overcome a nasty gash over his right eyebrow and right eyelid and will his way to a win over Otto Wallin in September.
The deep cut required 47 stitches, and many observers wondered out loud if Fury’s eye would recover in time to fight Deontay Wilder on Feb. 22. in a rematch following their controversial draw last December.
Wilder must first fight Luis Ortiz on Nov. 23 and come away clean and victorious himself, but he’s already salivating at the thought of testing Fury’s eye.
“I’m going to open [the eye] if it ain't right. I don’t know how many rounds it will take — depends on how good his plastic surgeon was,” said Wilder.
When asked if he will fight Fury on Feb. 22, Wilder said, “Most definitely. If everything is good with him. He says he wants to fight. I try to give these fighters what they want. I understand the sport, and how hard it is for us to make it.”
Wilder said he plans on making quick work of Ortiz in order to avoid any injuries that would potentially cancel their agreed upon match.
“I’m going to have to dramatically knock out Ortiz and give the fans what they paid to see. How do you do that? End it in the first round. That will be sensational,” said Wilder. “It will pump up the Fury fight since he can’t sell tickets, and then we’ll know who sold the pay per view.”
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist and member of the Boxing Writers Assn. of America since 2011. He has written for the likes of the Guardian, USA Today, Philadelphia Inquirer, Men’s Health and NFL.com and currently does TV commentary for combat sports programming that airs on Fox Sports. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan or via email at manouk.akopyan@gmail.com.
