Former world champion Carl Froch believes Tyson Fury will be more affected by the most recent delay of the trilogy fight with Deontay Wilder.
Fury was scheduled to defend his WBC heavyweight title against Wilder on July 24th at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The fight was officially pushed back last week, when it was revealed that Fury had contracted COVID-19.
Their respective camps are now discussing a new date – which is being targeted for the month of October.
Both Fury and Wilder have been inactive since their February 2020 rematch – which saw Fury dominate the action and stop Wilder in seven rounds to capture the WBC title.
Wilder has been energized in recent weeks – vowing to get revenge after a very lackluster performance in their last encounter.
“I was really disappointed with the postponement, because it’s a fight that I was looking forward to. Even though it seemed like it would be a one-sided fight for Fury, you can never ever just write any man off when he’s a huge puncher like Wilder,” Froch told Sky Sports.
“This delay is definitely going to hurt Fury more. They have both been out of the ring for the same amount of time, but Wilder is still going to be hungry, he’s got a point to prove. He’s been absolutely ridiculed and written off by loads of people. He’s been abused really on social media for a long time.
“I think Wilder is going to be like a man on fire, training for this fight, whereas Fury fought him the first time when he wasn’t in shape and still got a draw. Then in the rematch he absolutely battered him. It was a one-sided whooping, so Fury could be thinking, ‘Do I really need this?’ He’ll know he can get knocked out by Wilder, so that will make him train hard, but I think this delay is more of a concern for Fury than it is for Wilder.”
Despite the long layoff and the numerous delays, Froch is still backing Fury to walk away with his hand raised.
“Based on that second performance that Fury put on against Wilder, the way in which he got his range and his distance, I just think he’s got Wilder’s number and should win again when the fight eventually happens,” Froch said.
“Fury used his height and reach and his weight advantage, and he’s a natural fighter. The only chance that Wilder has got is to clip him, if Fury is not focused. But I don’t think Fury will be switched off, so I would still pick Fury, possibly on points or even another stoppage.”