Tyson Fury stops Wilder and proves his domination was no fluke!
With all eyes on him, Deontay “The Bronze Bomber” Wilder (42-2-1, 41 KO’s) lost the most meaningful fight of his career. Instead of regaining his heavyweight championship status, he was knocked out by Tyson “The Gypsy King” Fury (31-0-1, 22 KO’s) in the eleventh round of their trilogy bout contested in the T-Mobile Arena located in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Without question, this bout was the epitome of bad blood. Deontay Wilder felt that Fury had cheated him and was due a sobering, if not crippling, beating for those transgressions. The Gypsy King felt that his reputation was being sullied and meant to destroy Wilder for the sake of his own honor. Getting this high-pressure fight in the ring was no small feat. It was delayed by animosity, the COVID pandemic, economic reasons and a would-be super fight for undisputed. In the end though, after winning an arbitration trial that he initiated, Wilder’s legal team was able to force the matter.
Ahead of the fight, there was a great deal of attention placed on the changes that the Bomber had made. He fired coach Mark Breland who he labeled as a turncoat and dastardly saboteur. In his place, Wilder brought former fight victim and friend Malik Scott aboard his team. With the addition of Scott, the Alabaman began honing his fundamentals even more and put on a substantial amount of bulk.
For his part, Fury has maintained the same team, helmed by chief second Sugar Hill Stewart, that he had in the rematch. Outside of a notable scare regarding the health of his newest child, Fury has been relatively carefree since their last encounter. It’s no secret that Fury is widely regarded as the most skilled of the top heavyweights. That is why dusting off Wilder in such brutal fashion is so impressive.
TIME FOR WAR
Typically a notorious head-hunter, Deontay Wilder came out singularly focused on the body. The Alabaman would then dominate the period by throwing jabs and hard straight rights to the gut. In the closing moments of the period, Fury connected with a solid right hook that the Bomber ate well. As Wilder continued to be the bull in the ring, the Gypsy King began tying him up a great deal more in the second period.
In the third round, Tyson Fury began finding his groove as Wilder started losing his form. Despite getting sloppy, the Bomber was able to connect with a few grazing signature right-hands. Yet, it was not nearly enough. Fury pounded Wilder with a crunching left hook that placed him on the canvas. The valiant Alabaman made it to his feet, but did so looking raggedy and depleted.
In a sudden change of events, in the fourth, Wilder did what he does best and dropped Fury with a brutal right-hand. Moments later, the Gypsy king was dumped on the canvas for the second time in the round. The UK pugilist rebounded well enough and managed to stay out of trouble in the fifth. In this round, both competitors were showing signs of wear and tear.
Of the two though, Wilder appeared to be getting the worst of it. Now he was no longer doing any body work but was only searching for the colossal head shot that made his career. The smothering and clinching tactics that Fury was employing also appeared to be working like a charm. Each hugging session seemed to chew up more of Wilder’s depleting energy.
DEADLY DEJA VU!
Once again, the Bomber found himself in massive trouble in the seventh round. After being stunned along the ropes, Wilder looked all but out on his feet. As his legs crossed, he came close to going down. Yet, showing his world class resolve, the former WBC champion remained upright until the bell. A great deal of Wilder’s difficulty stemmed from his stiff body movements and constantly retreating with his hands down. The combination allowed Fury to consistently impale Wilder on the end of his punches.
By the ninth round, Tyson Fury had found his second wind while Wilder was his most vulnerable. The Bomber gave the impression that he might collapse on any landed shot. To make matters worse, the Gypsy King was landing jabs and straight rights at will. After being drilled for the first two minutes of the tenth, Fury evened up the knockdowns by dropping the Bomber with a thudding right hook. Seemingly dead on his feet, Deontay Wilder amazingly managed to hurt the champion in the final seconds of the period.
The end finally came in the eleventh when Fury roughly dumped the Alabaman on the canvas with a devastating right hook. This time, referee Russell Mora waved the bout off rather than put it to a count. With the win, the Gypsy King has officially won this series.
By: Bakari Simpson
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