Tyson Fury delivered yet another boxing masterclass to Deontay Wilder Saturday night in a packed MGM Grand arena, handily lifting the green WBC belt off the former champion in seven hard, technical rounds, knocking him down twice and finishing with a TKO, at the very moment that Wilder’s corner was in the process of throwing in the towel to protect their fighter. Wilder was not happy at having the towel thrown in. His assistant trainer, Mark Breland, made the call to toss it, according to trainer Jay Deas.
The match was shockingly one-sided, not least because the feared and fearsome power of Deontay Wilder didn’t figure in the match. It didn’t figure in the match because Fury, busy either distracting Wilder or surgically taking him apart, never gave the formerly undefeated Alabaman the chance to get on his front foot and box in what is, for Wilder, a modicum of comfort. Fury’s entire posture, ring presence, and pinpoint awareness of what he needed to do at any given moment in the seven rounds were the embodiment of excellent, textbook boxing. His jabs were particularly devastating to Wilder. The tape of the contest will be studied and taught, not least by the promoters, trainers and fighters now queuing to beg a match from him.
Fury literally lived up to his pre-fight bluster and delivered a shocking show of power, made all the more pointed and damaging by his professorial in-the-ring tactical thinking and the oddly balletic poise for which he is known. He did a gorgeous job of staying close to Wilder, dropping him decisively in rounds 3 and 5, while Wilder looked increasingly at a loss for what to do. Wilder hasn’t often been dropped, much less with that sort of finality.
It was as if the Alabaman had forgotten how to box: He was present in the ring and came out at the bells to do his duty, but a crucial element was missing, namely, the fire that one sees burning in Wilder when he senses that he’s backed into a corner and really has to fight his way out of it. Throughout the fight, Wilder just did not ignite.
In the penultimate sixth round, Fury simply mopped the floor with his opponent. It got ugly. Incredibly, with Wilder bleeding from the ear, Fury got close, stuck his tongue out, which is an ungainly habit of his, and seemed at least from the replays to taste the blood coming from Wilder, which was as brutal a gesture as there has been, and, diplomatically put, not a particularly sporting one. The final round of this fight was, sadly, a further prosecution by the seeming vampire, Fury, of his quarry, built on everything that had preceded it. By this point, Wilder’s team knew they had to throw in the towel. After the final flurry from Fury, their fighter was finished.
Bob Arum’s contracted rematch between these two gladiators will be a hotly anticipated event, but before that, it seems Deontay Wilder will have to return to school.
It’s important to remember the steep upward trajectory Fury has been on since emerging from his self-imposed binging exile in 2018. This is the top of 2020. He has now fought no less an opponent than the undefeated Deontay Wilder, not once, but twice, finally lifting the belt this time around. Mr. Fury’s superb skills will, it seems, only keep getting sharper. In the meantime, his unparalleled climb out of the abyss to reassert himself and his talent at the very pinnacle of his profession will be entered into the history books. We’re lucky: He’s going to make a colorful champion, wearing his heart on his sleeve as he does. However mercurial he remains — gauging from the Round 6 blood-licking, or the appearance of it, it seems he will very much remain that — with this fight, Fury has decisively established himself as a boxing legend.
Back in England, the focus will instantly shift to heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua and his promoter Eddie Hearn, who have been deftly avoiding Wilder for the past couple of years. With the sea-green WBC belt now in Mr. Fury’s possession, Joshua is on the spot, whether he likes it or not, to put all of his belts into unification play.
In short, it’s a deep moment of redemption for Tyson Fury. Whether it works out that he faces Wilder, Joshua, or any other comer, he will be encouraged by his new, hard-won belt not to step away again from his most productive forge.
