Skip Bayless' Fury-Wilder Prediction Was Bad And Then He Tried to Defend It on Twitter
Skip Bayless isn't one to back down from a debate. How he defended his pick for the Fury-Wilder fight, though, I have no idea.
Before Tyson Fury absolutely dominated Deontay Wilder, Bayless made his prediction on Twitter, confidently picking Wilder to knockout Fury based on "unfinished business" and "Real raw anger."
Wilder by KO. Unfinished business. Real raw anger.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) February 23, 2020
Bayless wasn't alone, of course. A lot of pundits felt the heavy-handed Wilder would come out with his 42nd knockout win, especially after he nearly knocked out Fury in their first fight.
But after the first few rounds of their fight last night, it was obvious to everyone Wilder wasn't going to get the knockout. Everyone except Bayless, who pleaded his case about why Wilder's corner shouldn't have thrown in the towel in the seventh round, despite the fact that Wilder was getting absolutely destroyed by Fury in every round.
I have little doubt Fury was going to win this fight, but wish Wilder's corner hadn't thrown in the towel. Remember how Fury rose from the canvas in R12 of the first fight. Obviously, he wasn't hurt as badly as Wilder was this time. But ... he deserved the rest of the round.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) February 23, 2020
As lost and battered as Wilder looked, I still say ... the towel should not have been thrown in. Not quite yet. His M.O. is throwing lethal rights out of nowhere. He deserved the rest of the round to try to land just one on a Fury who's capable of getting overconfident.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) February 23, 2020
Obviously, Wilder's corner didn't want to see him get badly hurt, or worse. But it's not like he got rushed to the hospital. He's sitting in his locker room getting some treatment on his ear. I'm not his doctor, but he doesn't look "badly hurt."
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) February 23, 2020
OK, now they're saying Wilder will go to the hospital to get checked out. Maybe he's worse off than I was guessing. This was obviously the first time in his career he took any kind of a beating. We'll see what the tests show.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) February 23, 2020
Ah, classic Bayless. Guy doesn't know when he's lost.
Honestly, though, anyone who watched that fight knew Wilder didn't have a knockout in him. He got rocked early and never seemed to have his feet under him after that. His corner did what was best for his health. They threw in the towel because he was hurting and didn't have the power to turn the tide of the fight with a single blow. But for Bayless, I guess his pick being right was more important than what was obvious to everyone else, including the professional trainers who made the decision.