Fury chasing knockout in Wilder rematch
LAS VEGAS (AFP) – Tyson Fury vowed Monday to chase a knockout in next month’s eagerly anticipated rematch with WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder, insisting he believes he has no chance of earning a victory on points in Las Vegas.
The charismatic undefeated British fighter faces the unbeaten Wilder at the MGM Grand on February 22, after the two men battled to a draw in Los Angeles in December 2018.
Fury (290-1, 20 knockouts) earned a share of the spoils in the first fight after frustrating Wilder with a superbly elusive performance.
However the self-styled “Gypsy
King” survived a 12th round knockdown to cling on for the draw at the Staples Center.
At a press conference in Los Angeles on Monday, Fury said he plans to attack Wilder early on in next month’s bout, insisting he is targeting a second-round knockout.
“Thinking ain’t enough,” the 31year-old Fury said. “I need to know I’ve won the fight. I know I need to get a knockout here. I’m going into this fight knowing I can’t win a decision. I’ve got to knock him out.”
Fury claimed his recent change of trainer – he has dispensed with the services of Ben Davison in favour of Sugarhill Steward, the nephew of late Kronk gym legend Emanuel Steward – would help him score a knockout.
“I’m looking for a knockout,” he said. “That’s why I hired Sugarhill. He gets you to sit down on that big right hand. That’s what I’m looking for. There’s the game plan.”