Tyson Fury produced one of the best performances of his career to outclass Deontay Wilder with a cracking 11th round knockout after being put down twice in the fifth round to retain his WBC heavyweight title in Las Vegas
In his first ever title defence, Fury showed he was a class above one of the hardest punchers in boxing history to down Wilder in the third, 10th and 11th rounds to win what many are deeming one of the greatest fights in heavyweight history as the classic Fury vs Wilder trilogy found its ending.
After an assured and composed start from Wilder, Fury was able to send The Bronze Bomber to the canvas in the third round with a crashing right hook to the temple with the bell saving the American from more damage.
However the tides were shifted astonishingly in the fourth round as a clearly tired Wilder was able to catch Fury with a solid straight right, stunning The Gypsy King into the canvas before sending the Brit down again who was only just saved by the bell.
Fury recovered brilliantly as he controlled the following rounds, whilst Wilder seemed out on his feet from the seventh before going down once again in the 10th with another beautiful right hook from Fury.
Wilder’s heart was enough to get him through to the 11th round, however yet another punishing right hook from Fury sent the American crashing to the floor, giving the referee no choice but to call the fight.
“I am the greatest heavyweight champion of my era” declared Fury, “I always say I am the best fighter in the world and he is the second best. Don’t ever doubt me.”
The respect that is normally shown after the end of such a brilliant fight wasn’t seen by Wilder as Fury said, “I went over to him to show some love and respect and he didn’t want to give it back. That’s his problem.”
What next for The Gypsy King?
After defeating Wilder twice now, some could argue even three times, more big tests lie ahead for Fury who has the likes of Dillian Whyte, Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua all in his sights for the future.
With Joshua triggering his rematch clause against Usyk for Spring 2022, it is likely that Dillian Whyte will be the man to face Fury next as he currently holds the WBC interim belt, which he was able to win back after defeating Alexander Povetkin in March.
However The Body Snatcher must first defeat Otto Wallin on October 31, who challenged Fury all the way to a unanimous decision defeat in September 2019.
The perfect future for heavyweight boxing would see the winner of Usyk vs Joshua 2 facing the winner of Fury vs Whyte for the chance to become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, however we all know in boxing that the future is very hard to predict.
But what we do know is that Fury’s stunning victory on Saturday night will go down in the history books, as The Gypsy King showed why he may just be the greatest heavyweight of the era.
Comments