'Can't fight': American pundit's brutal takedown of Deontay Wilder
Controversial former trainer and boxing caller Teddy Atlas has taken aim at Deontay Wilder's boxing ability after the American’s reign as WBC heavyweight champion was spectacularly ended by Tyson Fury.
Brit Fury completely outclassed the "Bronze Bomber" in a rematch of their controversial split draw in 2018.
‘HE’S A WARRIOR’: Tyson Fury's classy tribute to beaten Deontay Wilder
Fury's seventh round TKO victory at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas was fully deserved and sees the 31-year-old preserve his own unbeaten record.
Wilder went into the contest with 41 knockouts in his previous 43 fights - his 95% success rate the greatest the sport of boxing has ever seen.
However, Tyson’s former trainer Atlas - the man who famously condemned Jeff Horn’s world title win over Manny Pacquiao in 2017 - took aim at Wilder after the fight.
Despite the fight representing the very first loss in 44 bouts for Wilder, Atlas was scathing of the American.
“Full disclosure, I picked Wilder to win, figuring his eraser would take care of a lot of sins,” Atlas said.
“But I’ve been saying since the beginning of his career that Wilder can’t fight. He can’t fight.
“He never learned how to fight, but punchers are not made. They’re born, and he was born with that great eraser, with that thunderbolt in his right hand.
“But tonight it wasn’t there to pull him out of the fire. Tonight, he got exposed because he doesn’t know how to fight because of his technique.”
Fury's plan of taking the contest to his big-hitting opponent paid dividends, with Atlas claiming the Brit's aggressive mindset was the key to his victory.
“Sometimes it’s good not to care, and just go in there and go after it. That’s what Fury did,” Atlas said.
“He didn’t try and box and didn’t try and use his best assets, his legs, and his elusive ability.
“He used his size and determination, and he took advantage of a guy (Wilder) who was there to be taken advantage of.
“It was a guy whose technique was there to fail him on any given night, and his power was there to save him on any given night. Tonight, his technique failed him, and his power never got a chance to save him.”
Wilder was clearly affected by the cut to his ear that appeared to jolt his equilibrium completely out of whack.
The American was unstable on his feet and his trainer Jay Deas even went as far as suggesting that the elaborate outfit Wilder came out in may have contributed to his heavy legs during the bout.
“His legs didn’t look great to me early on. I didn’t think his legs look like they normally look," Deas told Boxing Social.
“I know he came to the ring in the outfit, which was very heavy. I don’t know if that had anything to do with it.
“Tyson’s a lot of weight to be putting on you as well. I don’t know all the answers yet but once I see the film, I’ll know more.”
Bizarre Fury act causes huge stir with fans
A boxer in their first fight, Fury went on the attack in Saturday night's rematch and knocked Wilder down twice before a flurry of punches in the seventh prompted his corner to call an end to the highly anticipated rematch.
Fury’s performance left the boxing world in awe, but a bizarre moment in the third round had people scratching their heads.
After opening up a cut in Wilder’s ear, Fury decided to lick the blood that was dripping down his opponent’s neck.
It's one thing to dominate your opponent, which Fury did. It's another to lick the blood off him in doing so. That's some next-level trolling. pic.twitter.com/mweZThvH4B
— The Sports Daily (@SportsDailyBlog) February 23, 2020
Whether or not he actually licked the blood remains to be seen, but the moment certainly caused a stir.
Wilder’s ear is gushing blood.
Fury also just appeared to lick it.
Shades of BJ Penn in his prime.— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) February 23, 2020
Ref Kenny Bayless should stop this soon. Wilder can't stay standing. WTF?! Did @Tyson_Fury just lick Wilder? Sick. This is adding insult to injury. @trboxing @premierboxing #WilderFury2
— Rosie Perez (@rosieperezbklyn) February 23, 2020
Being defeated and then having some wild man actually lick your blood on your way down... Jesus, that’s getting owned in the single most soul-crushing way. #WilderFury2 #TysonFury
— Cam McHarg (@cammcharg) February 23, 2020
Tyson Fury a vampire or something trying to lick Wilder’s blood.
— Chris Williamson (@CWilliamson44) February 23, 2020