Heavyweight boxing champ Tyson Fury traveled all the way to New York from his hometown in England to confront heavyweight rival Deontay Wilder, who knocked out Artur Szpilka at the Barclays Center Saturday night to retain his WBC heavyweight title.
Fury is coming off a unanimous decision victory over former heavyweight king Wladimir Klitschko last November to win Klitschko’s multiple titles including The Ring, WBO, IBO, & WBA (Super) heavyweight belts. The 27-year-old British puncher is aiming to land a lucrative fight against Wilder but needs to be victorious against Klitshko in a rematch. Likewise, Wilder has to win over Alexander Povetkin (30-1, 22 KOs), his mandatory challenger. All the posturings by the two hottest fighters are intended to hype a possible heavyweight box office hit toward the end of the year but the big fight is dependent of the result of their next bouts. It took Wilder nine rounds to dispose Szpilka, a heavyweight southpaw from Poland. Wilder has not fought a southpaw in over three years and it shows in his late TKO victory over Szpilka. The fight started with the usual feeling each other out but it was obvious Wilder was tentative in the early rounds until after the third round when Wilder landed a power right that rocked Szpilka. It was a give and take scene from the fifth to seventh round. In the eight round, Wilder produced a cut on the right eye of Szpilka after a power right early in the round. The fight ended with the power shot by Wilder at 2:24 of the ninth round for a TKO win. “He was definitely a crafty guy,” Wilder said. “I haven’t competed against a southpaw in three years. He was a tough competitor, but you’re fighting for a world title. It’s not supposed to be easy. I’m surprised it took that long, but we had 12 rounds, and they can’t all be pretty.” In a post fight shouting match, Fury said: “Any time, any place, anywhere. I’ll fight you in your backyard after I beat Klitschko again.” For his part, Wilkder said: “We all know Fury is just a phony. This is just an act,” Wilder said. “I’m not scared of anybody. We’ll come to your backyard. This is just an act. You’re not a real fighter. I don’t play. This isn’t wrestling. This isn’t the WWE. When you do step in that ring with me, I promise you I will baptize you. Both Wilder and Fury are unbeaten in their pro boxing careers but Wilder is unmatched in his KO wins with 35 of his 36 fights going via knockout.
