Tyson Fury, from Wilmslow, Cheshire, United Kingdom, won a unanimous decision over Wladimir Klitschko, the sleepwalker from Kiev, Ukraine?
Saturday night at the ESPRIT arena in D?sseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany, Tyson Fury (25-0, 18 KOs), from Wilmslow, Cheshire, United Kingdom, won a unanimous decision over Wladimir Klitschko (64-4, 53 KOs), the sleepwalker from Kiev, Ukraine, by way of Zhangiztobe, Kazakhstan, to win the WBA/IBF/WBO/IBO titles.
The final scores were 116-111 and 115-112 twice for the new heavyweight champion of the world.
Fighting out of the blue corner in green trunks, Fury entered the ring with a game plan in mind. He was going to use his legs. He was going to use the ring. He was going to feint and move his head. And last but not least, Tyson Fury was going to punch.
Klitschko, fighting out of the red corner in red trunks, did none of those things. If he had a game plan it was incoherent. He has been accused of being robotic in the past, but even artificial intelligence would have been preferable to what Klitschko demonstrated, or failed to demonstrate Saturday night.
Pride, decorum, and competency have been the hallmarks of Klitschko?s heavyweight reign. Pride and decorum, fortunately, didn?t take a hit in D?sseldorf, but competency took it on the chin?and big time.
Klitschko, a reluctant warrior in the best of times, seemed unable or unwilling to let his hands go. Fury is not a remarkable talent, but against Klitschko he looked like Cassius Clay fighting Sonny Liston. Both Klitschko and Liston were cut on their left cheek, but at least Liston tried to fight back.
The same cannot be said of Klitschko.
To call his performance abysmal gives it more credit than it deserves. Caution is one thing. Absolute fear of getting hit on the chin is another.
Klitschko?s unwillingness to let his hands go made this the ultimate stinkeroo. He didn?t punch from the outside. He didn?t punch on the inside. He clinched and grabbed and held whenever Fury got close. That strategy may have worked in the past, but it failed miserably in the present, and there?s no one else but himself to blame.
Listening to Johnathan Banks pleading with Klitschko for round after interminable round to do something, to do anything, to fight goddammit, grew as wearisome as watching Klitschko do whatever he imagined he was doing.
Banks, however earnest, however desperate, might have been talking to a tree or cloud for all the good it did.
All of Klitschko?s worst traits came to bear on the decision. Fury may have embarrassed Klitschko, but it was Klitschko who embarrassed himself most of all.
Those who think Klitschko compares to the great heavyweights of the past need to think again. He has been a dominant figure, in the weakest heavyweight division in history, and excelled when going up against lesser men. Tyson Fury was thought to be a lesser man, but Klitschko proved him otherwise.
Because of a rematch clause, we can expect Fury and Klitschko to fight again.
?There will be a rematch,? said Klitschko after the fight. ?It is still early and I have to process things but there will definitely be a rematch.?
That might be good news, especially for Tyson Fury, who will likely win again, but not such good news for the fans.
Klitschko landed all of 52 punches during the 12-round fight. Fury landed 86.
?I was well prepared for this fight,? Klitschko continued, ?but he was quick for his height. I never believed he would do it but he did. I was lacking speed and he was quick. I just could not find the right distance. His reach bothered me. I tried it but it just did not happen.?
It did not happen because Klitschko did not make it happen. He did not win the fight because he simply would not fight.
Fury, of course, was over the moon at his victory.
After proclaiming his allegiance to Jesus Christ, Fury said, ?Tonight?s the start of a new era. I said I?ll be the most charismatic champion since Muhammad Ali and I?ll be that. It was a tough ask coming here. He?s avoided me for five years. People can say what they want about me. He landed some good shots on me and not one rocked me. He was hanging on for dear life in that fight.?
Fury got that right. Hanging on for dear life was exactly was Klitschko was doing. Unless he can change his temperament, which is hard to imagine, Klitschko?s salad days are at an end.
