We guess you can say it just wasn’t in the cards for Deontay Wilder to beat Tyson Fury. Nope, instead, it was Fury who won decisively in their personal trifecta.
But the record will show that Wilder didn’t make it a walk in the park for Fury, either. Not as Fury battered him around the ring, round after round.
It took time, but Fury simply outlasted Wilder, after scoring knockdowns in the third and 10th rounds before brutally finishing Wilder with a highlight-reel knockout in the 11th on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena to retain his WBC heavyweight title in what’s being described as one of the most action-packed title fights of all time.
The fight featured five combined knockdowns, with Wilder going down three times and Fury going down twice, both in Round 4.
Fury (31-0-1, 22 KOs) was ahead on all three scorecards when the fight was stopped: 95-92, 94-92 and 95-91. ESPN scored it 96-89.
“It was a great fight tonight,” said Fury, 33. “It was worthy of any trilogy in the history of the sport. Wilder’s a tough fighter. … I always said I’m the best in the world and he’s second-best.”
Regardless of where Wilder, 35, is ranked after a second consecutive loss to Fury, his heart can never be questioned. He fired assistant trainer Mark Breland for throwing in the towel in the seventh round of his February 2020 rematch with Fury, saying he can never be counted out of a fight due to his tremendous power and that he always wants “to go out on his shield.”
But finally — mercifully — in Round 11, Fury landed the fight-ending shot, a devastating right hand that instantly dropped Wilder in a heap. Mora didn’t bother to count; there was no need. The fight was over at 1:10 of Round 11, ending a trilogy featuring 30 total rounds.
“I haven’t seen the actual knockout tonight, but I felt it,” Fury said. “I hit him with a solid, crunching right hook to the temple, and shots like that, they end careers. He definitely took some punishment, so we’ll see what he can do in the future.”
Fury said he attempted to speak with Wilder in the ring afterward but said Wilder declined.
“I’m a sportsman,” Fury said. “I went over to show some love and respect, and he didn’t want to show it back. So I pray for him.”
Tyson Fury delivered on his promise to give Deontay Wilder a beatdown during Saturday’s five-knockdown slugfest.
But “The Gypsy King” had to rise from the canvas twice in the fourth round and drop “The Bronze Bomber” on three other occasions to complete an 11th-round TKO victory in defense of his WBC heavyweight crown before 15,820 fans at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The 6-foot-9 Fury (31–0–1, 22 KOs) floored the 6-foot-7 Wilder (42–2–1, 41 KOs) in the third round, rose from a pair of knockdowns in the final 53 seconds of the fourth and dropped “The Bronze Bomber” once each in the 10th and 11th to win a battle for the ages.
Wilder lay on his left side at the 1:10 mark as referee Russell Mora indicated a victory for Fury, who rose from ninth- and 12th-round knockdowns during a December 2018 draw with Wilder before dethroning him via two-knockdown, seventh-round TKO in their February 2020 rematch.
Fury’s head- and body-swiveling right hand ended the night for Wilder, who was still on his way to the canvas as Mora signaled the conclusion of a trilogy that featured a combined nine knockdowns — five by Fury and four by Wilder.
“I hit him solid with a crunching right to the temple, and shots like that end careers,” said Fury, who led, 94–92, 95–92 and 95–91 on the three judges’ cards. “[Wilder] took a lot of punishment tonight from left uppercuts, left hooks and right hands. We’ll see what he can do in the future. I just hope that he’s okay.”
Fury, 33, rushed to a corner of the ring, stood on the ropes and triumphantly thrust his gloved fists overhead in celebration.
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