Tyson Fury vs Francesco Pianeta Odds, Preview and Prediction

Former world heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury continues his comeback on Saturday as he faces Italian veteran Francesco Pianeta in the undercard of the Carl Frampton vs Luke Jackson showdown at the 25,000 capacity Windsor Park in Belfast.

This will be Fury’s second fight since sitting out 30 months after a suspension for taking an illegal substance and at the same time suffering from depression. Fury returned to action last June 9, 2018 by knocking out the overmatched Sefer Seferi in four rounds.

Fury is talking about a possible showdown with current WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder, possibly later this year in what should be the biggest heavyweight fight this year. But first things first for Fury and that’s Francesco Pianeta on Saturday.

Easy To Hit But Has Power

The 33 year old Pianeta is a former WBO international heavyweight champion and the former European Heavyweight champion. The 6-5 southpaw has a record of 28-4-1 with 21 knockouts. In the biggest fight of his career, Pianeta challenged Wladimir Klitschko for the heavyweight title in 2013. He lost that fight via 6th round TKO and was dropped three times by Klitschko in that bout.

Pianeta’s most notable wins were against Johann Duhaupas, Frans Botha and Oliver McCall. Aside from his loss to Klitschko, he also challenged for the WBA (regular) heavyweight title in 2015 but was knocked out in the first round by Ruslan Chagaev. Pianeta was unbeaten in his first 28 fights but since then, his record has only been 7-4 and he’s lost two of his last three fights.

Pianeta has a decent straight left hand and is good  with his counters. He has punching power as seven of his last eight wins have come by stoppage. His main weakness though is his mobility. He lacks footwork and doesn’t have great movement. He is easy to hit, even by an above average fighter. What more for a Tyson Fury?

Looking Ahead At A Wilder Fight

Former unified heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury is hot on the trail of Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder. With Joshua booked to face Alexander Povetkin next, Fury has set his sights on the American Wilder. The latter had been frustrated after not being able to book a date with Joshua and he may end up fighting Fury next.

Tyson Fury is the man who ended the decade of invincibility of Wladimir Klitschko. In November 2015, he masterfully outboxed one of the greatest heavyweight champions of this era and won the belts. However, he was not able to defend any one of his titles after going through a dark period which is now over.

Fury has great size at 6-9 with a reach of 85 and has plenty of pop in his punches. What makes him special though is that he has excellent footwork and movement for a guy his size. He puts together excellent combinations and he also has a very high boxing IQ. Even when he doesn’t land clean, Fury can drop opponents.

Who Wins?

Fury is looking ahead at a showdown with WBC champion Deontay Wilder. But let’s hope that he isn’t looking past Pianeta. No question that when you take a look at their fight resumes, this is a mammoth mismatch in favor of Fury. But let’s not forget that the invincible Mike Tyson once was knocked out by a +4200 underdog named Buster Douglas. This is the heavyweight division and one punch can alter the destiny of any fighter.

Looking at Pianeta though, he may be the unlikely guy to beat someone like Tyson Fury. He’s not a mobile guy and will be a stationary target for Fury. Pianeta has lost every big fight he’s had. He is 0-2 in world title fights and is 0-2 in his last two bids to reclaim the IBO international heavyweight title. And yes, he is coming off a terrible loss to novice Petar Milas last June 16, 2018.

We all know who Tyson Fury is and what he is capable of. However, given that he has seen little action in the last couple of years, there may be chinks in his armor. Fury didn’t look like he was in great shape in his comeback fight against Seferi but that was an utter mismatch really. Since that fight lasted so quickly, we cannot gauge at what level Fury is in right now and if he is in the world class condition to beat guys like Wilder and Joshua. Fortunately, he is fighting Pianeta and not Wilder or Joshua.

I just don’t see an upset happening here. Tyson Fury has the advantage anywhere you look at it. The only way Pianeta can win is if he lands a lucky punch that knocks the spark out of Fury. He does have 21 KOs in his resume so never say never. But given Fury’s skill and craftsmanship, the ageing Pianeta should be an easy prey. We’re picking Tyson Fury to beat Francesco Pianeta.

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