Tyson Fury survived the Deontay Wilder experience in their first go-around, and then put the American away in the sequel.
Going into the third, though, the Brit isn’t taking any chances, despite many in the boxing world seemingly viewing it as some sort of formality.
“A lot of people are writing Wilder off in this fight,” Fury told the BBC. “They almost look at him like he’s a bum. Like he can’t fight and he’s useless. You can’t write him off.”
And he’s got a point.
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Heading into their first fight, Wilder was the scariest man in the division. There was no doubt that Fury was the best boxer, and Anthony Joshua was someone to be considered, too. But in terms of pure fear, there was no-one like Wilder.
Before Fury, Wilder had only ever won. He had 40 wins, with 39 knockouts. That one decision win over Bermane Stiverne was rectified a couple years later when Wilder knocked out his rival in this first round.
Points is, Wilder was different; possessing the kind of power that can make what happens in a 12-round fight almost irrelevant. Why? Because he only needs to land one punch.
And that’s so almost what happened when Wilder took on Fury the first time they went to war. If not for one of the most miraculous, unlikely recoveries of all time, Wilder would have become the first man to beat Fury. Instead, it was a split decision draw.
No problem. While the two towering heavyweights booked a rematch, Wilder stopped Dominic Breazeale with a first round knockout, and followed it up with another finish — this time against Luis Ortiz.
The rematch was different, though. Fury turned bully as a weirdly out of sorts Wilder wilted in a way we hadn’t seen before. It was so convincing — Fury dropping Wilder in the third and fifth rounds, before the fight was stopped in the seventh — that many saw it as a case closed. There was no need for a trilogy.
Wilder blamed the defeat on anything he could. His costume. His coach. Fury cheating.
And yet, here we are.
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Wilder forced the third showdown. There’s no Joshua super-fight on the other side of this one for Fury now, and all of a sudden there’s a whole lot of risk for the British heavyweight.
“Make no mistake about this, Deontay Wilder is the most dangerous heavyweight out there,” Fury said. “Combine them all together and they don’t make a danger like Wilder.
“So that’s what I’m messing with. I’m playing with an atomic bomb, messing round, clipping wires.
“Every time you go into the ring with Deontay Wilder you’re playing with that danger.
“This is the third time now I’ve been in the ring with him and every single time he’s been very dangerous. He’s a very dangerous hombre with big, big power and he can close the distance quickly.
“With most boxers they need to hit you with five punches, with Wilder he can hit you with a quarter punch and knock you spark out.”
The question that remains, though, is what Wilder are we going to get?
As usual, Wilder will make his bet. You know, the one that’s worked almost every time he’s stepped foot in the ring.
In 36 minutes of boxing, the American is happy to wage his record and reputation on the premise he’ll land that one punch that puts an end to everything; whatever came before it, and whatever might have come after it.
It’s a bet that so almost paid off the first time he fought Fury, was almost made void by the he approached the rematch, and one that’s offering better odds than ever before in the trilogy.
Fury might just be too good for Wilder again. But the former heavyweight champion of the world has a new coach, has the taste of defeat to drive him, and yes, that same right hand from hell.
