Atlas: Wilder Doesn't Know How To Fight; Exposed Again For No Fundamentals
By
Keith Idec
Published On Sat Mar 21, 2020, 08:39 AM EDT
Teddy Atlas thinks Deontay Wilder could learn from what Tyson Fury did before their rematch.
Fury replaced trainer Ben Davison with Jevan Steward just before Fury began training camp for their second heavyweight title fight February 22 in Las Vegas. The result of switching trainers couldn’t have been better for Fury, who overwhelmed Wilder with physicality and pressure, scored two knockdowns and stopped the previously unbeaten WBC champion in the seventh round at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Atlas, a veteran trainer and longtime ESPN analyst, discussed what went wrong for Wilder and what the former champion could do before their third fight during a recent appearance on SiriusXM’s “Ak and Barak Show.”
“Maybe do what Fury did in his last fight, get a new trainer,” Atlas said, referring to Wilder replacing longtime trainers Jay Deas and Mark Breland. “I mean, and that’s hard for me to say because I just don’t wanna knock anybody in my business. I’ve been in it 44 years. The last thing I wanna do is start knocking people. But when you ask a question, a direct question, that, you know, calls for a direct answer, you either gotta keep your freakin’ mouth shut or you gotta give a direct answer. And, you know, [getting a new trainer is] one of the things to show that something will be different.
“Because last time what he showed – what he had showed other times, quite frankly, but he didn’t pull it out of the fire with the great power this time – he showed that he doesn’t know how to fight. And a lot of people say, ‘Teddy, did you just say that?’ Yeah, he’s a millionaire, multimillionaire, he’s had [10] title defenses, was the world champion – he didn’t know how to fight. But he had that one thing that is not made, it’s born, the power to punch. And it was a great eraser. And, you know, it takes care of a lot of sins. And it did, it took care of a lot of sins for him.”
Those same flaws Fury exposed were evident to Atlas when Wilder opposed Luis Ortiz in their rematch three months before Fury defeated him. But as often happened during Wilder’s ascent to stardom, he nullified Ortiz’s advantages with his pulverizing power by landing a right hand that abruptly halted their second fight in the seventh round November 23 at MGM Grand Garden Arena.
“Even in the Ortiz fight, he was losing six rounds to nothing,” Atlas said. “Let’s not forget that, to a 40-year-old guy. Yeah, a southpaw. Yeah, a solid guy that had fought in the Cuban national team, amateur team, which is, of course, a great amateur team. But he’s 40 years old and he had knocked him out in the previous fight. And again, he’s losing six rounds to nothing. But the hammer was there. This time it wasn’t there. He was exposed again for having no fundamentals, really none of the rudimental things that you need, usually, to be a top fighter and definitely to have longevity. And, you know, when the power’s not there anymore, your career comes to a halt. Well, at least it comes to a pause. It’s at a pause right now.”
The outspoken Atlas isn’t sure Wilder can do much to correct his flaws in the short amount of time between their second and third fights. England’s Fury (30-0-1, 21 KOs) and Alabama’s Wilder (42-1-1, 41 KOs) are tentatively scheduled to meet again July 18 at MGM Grand Garden Arena, but that date could change if fights continue to be postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“What do you do now to get past the pause?,” Atlas continued. “You learn how to fight, and that’s not gonna happen. I mean, that’s gonna happen from now to July? And they’re probably not gonna bring in somebody new for the possibility. And we don’t know if it’s all the trainer’s fault or he’s not a good student or he’s arrogant. And, you know, somebody who has that great gift of punching, it’s a great curse that goes with it. Sometimes you don’t have to learn anything else. Sometimes you don’t have to develop yourself in other areas. So, you get away with it for so long, and you’re winning, who’s gonna argue with you?”
Even more than I thought they would be due to the stoppages.
.jpg)
