All Tyson Fury had to do Sept. 14 was get by the unknown Swede, Otto Wallin, and he'd lock horns once again with WBC heavyweight titlist Deontay Wilder.
Simple enough, right?
Heading into the third round, Fury was starting to get into a rhythm, and things were going his way. But the complexion of the fight changed when they were battling on the inside and Wallin hit Fury with a left hand to open up a massive gash over the Brit's right eye. Blood instantly started pouring down the champion's face. There were instances in which the ringside doctor looked at Fury's cut. The fear was the bout would be stopped and the highly anticipated rematch with Wilder would be in the dust.
Fury survived to win by unanimous decision, and the Wilder fight remained intact. Immediately after the match, Fury went to a Las Vegas hospital to get 47 stitches for not just the one cut but another one in the same area.
A little more than five months later, the Wilder vs. Fury 2 showdown is here, set for Saturday night. But the main factor coming into the most significant heavyweight title clash in the United States since Lennox Lewis-Mike Tyson in 2002 is whether that cut will be a factor. Is Fury coming back too soon? Does Wilder make it a point to emphasize it? Will Fury fight cautiously?
DAZN News spoke with three of the guys who will be part of Saturday's broadcast — ESPN analysts and former world champions Andre Ward and Tim Bradley along with Fox Sports analyst and former welterweight champion Shawn Porter — to provide insight on these questions.
Andre Ward
"We’re going to see. It’s tough to say. That cut miraculously might not open up in the rematch. Wilder may look in his direction and it may open up. We just don’t know. It’s tough to say how the cut's going to fair. I hope that it’s not factor in this fight. I hope that’s not something where it opens up and then we get a lackluster or an underwhelming finish because of a technical situation with the cut. I hope that the fight isn’t affected negatively by the cut. I hope they can fight it out and there will not be anything that Fury can point to or anybody can point to and say, ‘You won, Wilder, but it was a technical knockout’. I hope that it’s not a factor, but it is very, very hard to say how much of a factor it’s going to be.
"I think if you're Camp Fury, you’re happy (the cut) is on the opposite side of where Deontay Wilder likes to throw his right hand. But it doesn’t mean that a jab can’t open it up or a hook can’t open it up. One thing working in Fury’s favor is that he’s got Jacob “Stitch” Duran, the best cut man in the game. He’s cool, he’s composed in the corner if something happens. He’ll act fast and know what to do. He saved me on countless occasions, so I thought that was a great move by Fury’s team."
Shawn Porter
"I don’t think it’s been long enough for that cut to heal and get enough hard skin around it that it won’t open up. I think if it opens up prior to the fourth round, we got a problem. We’re looking at the fight being stopped early, and we’re looking at a third fight. I think if it goes past four rounds, you’re looking at a decision and Tyson Fury could very well get out of the ring, and Tyson Fury could very well get out of the ring with an early decision due to a technical stoppage of the fight."
Tim Bradley
"One hundred sixty-two days. That’s how long it’s going to be (from the Wallin fight to the rematch). Is that enough time? It’s not one cut, it’s two cuts. It was one on top of the other. It’s (now) two cuts he has to worry about. They were in bad places. You got to worry about blood dripping down in the eye. If you’re Tyson Fury, having a fight like he fought against Otto Wallin, an inside type of fight where he took 127 punches, the most he’s ever taken in a fight, a prizefight.
"Another thing I think we've got to worry about with the cut is the fact that did he train? Was he able to train for this fight? Was he able to get in there and spar with guys that could punch or guys that bring that type of intensity? The last time I heard is that they (Fury’s camp) were limiting the sparring (and saying) you can’t throw left hooks at the eye. Can he bring that type of intensity? Can he bring that type of lackluster intensity into the ring not sparring tough?
"You've got to get ready for these fights. You've got to spar the best partners out there. When you can’t perform in the gym, how are you going to perform on the big stage? You don’t get that work. I’m worried about that. Is Tyson Fury a hundred percent for this fight because of the cut (and) because they had to protect the cut?"