Watching the Deontay Wilder-Tyson Fury fight from a ringside seat simply reinforced what Dominic Breazeale believed. That the undefeated Wilder is quite beatable.
Breazeale realizes that Wilder hits harder with his right hand than perhaps any heavyweight in boxing. Other than that, though, Breazeale doesn’t see anything that should make him feel like he is headed toward an unwinnable battle Saturday night at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
In fact, Breazeale feels Fury, not Wilder, should own the WBC championship for which he’ll fight. Breazeale left Staples Center in Los Angeles on December 2 convinced Fury defeated Wilder in their 12-round split draw, despite that Wilder floored Fury twice, once apiece in the ninth and 12th rounds.
“It gave me some better things to focus in on,” Breazeale said during a conference call last week. “At the same time, I think, you know, just [for] my peace of mind, I was there in person – I thought Fury won that fight. I know he got knocked down a couple times, but as far as the boxing world looked at it and the way you score a boxing match, Tyson Fury out-boxed Wilder that night and won that fight. But Fury did some good things. He used some good head movement and some great defensive tactics, as well as counter-punching.
“And on the other hand, Wilder did the same thing over and over, like he’s done in his last four, five fights, for his last four or five years. It’s throw the one-two and hope and pray that right hand lands eventually. You know, there was some things I learned from the fight, as well as some things that I’ve continuously seen over and over, time and time again.”
Only one judge, Canada’s Robert Tapper, agreed with how Breazeale saw the Wilder-Fury fight. Tapper scored eight rounds for Fury (114-112).
California’s Alejandro Rochin scored seven rounds for Wilder (115-111). The third judge, England’s Phil Edwards, scored seven rounds for Fury, but he had it even due to Fury losing a point apiece for the knockdowns (113-113).
Showtime will televise the Wilder-Breazeale bout Saturday night as the main event of a tripleheader (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT).
The 6-feet-7 Wilder (40-0-1, 39 KOs), of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, is listed by most Internet sports books as an 8-1 favorite over the 6-feet-7 Breazeale (20-1, 18 KOs), of Eastvale, California.
–boxingscene
