Tyson Fury’s Sadness for Deontay Wilder: A Shadow of His Former Self?

Tyson Fury expressed sadness for Deontay Wilder when asked today about his thoughts on the Bronze Bomber’s performance last Friday night against Tyrrell Anthony Herndon.

Wilder’s Right Hand Gone?

Fury says he saw a clip of the former WBC heavyweight champion Wilder (44-4-1, 43 KOs) with Herndon, and he felt that he was just a “shadow” of his former self in his headliner on June 27, at the Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, Kansas. Deontay’s right-hand power was gone, and he was forced to use his left for his power punching.

Although he did drop Herndon (24-6, 15 KOs) twice en route to knocking him out in the seventh, he was forced to throw clubbing rights and left hands. His famous straight right was weak-looking.

Before the fight, Deontay revealed that he’s been dealing with a right shoulder problem, but he said he was injury-free. If this is a permanent situation, Wilder will need to retire, as he can’t beat any of the top 15 without his right hand being fully operational.

As long as Deontay, 39, can eventually regain strength in his arm, he should be okay. He definitely can’t continue fighting top-tier opposition if he can’t regain his full strength. Wilder was having problems looking timid and gun-shy even before his right shoulder problem.

He looked afraid to throw punches in his trilogy match against Fury in 2021. He did drop ‘The Gyspy King’ twice in the fourth, but couldn’t put him away after gassing out.

Fury Reacts to Wilder’s Performance

“I saw a clip of it. It was sad to see. And it was sad to see someone of Deontay Wilder’s ferocious and ferocity and all of that thing. Just a shadow of his former glory,” said Tyson Fury to Fight Hub TV, reacting to Deontay Wilder looking weak and lethargic in his victory over Tyrell Anthony Herndon last Friday night. “I’m sad, and I knocked the b**** out twice. So, I’m sad for him.”

Fury isn’t one to talk about a fighter being a shadow of their former self. He looked 100% washed in his last two fights against Oleksandr Usyk, losing both fights. The way Tyson performed in both fights, he’d lost to many of the top 15 contenders. At 36, Fury’s nowhere near the top form he showed years ago when he beat Wladimir Klitschko in 2015 and Deontay in 2019.