Fury hands Wilder his first career loss via TKO in the 7th round.
Tyson Fury is a world champion once again, and he did it by outslugging the knockout artist. In one of boxing’s most anticipated rematches in years, Fury defeated Deontay Wilder by a seventh-round TKO Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, capturing the WBC world heavyweight title in the process.
Many thought the powerful Wilder would win by stoppage after he knocked Fury down twice en route to a draw in December 2018, but it was Fury who forced referee Kenny Bayless to call the fight.
Fury knocked down Wilder in the second and fifth rounds, and a bloodied, shaky Wilder was unable to fight back in the decisive seventh.
For years, Fury clung to his unofficial status as lineal champion after he was stripped of titles he won against Wladimir Klitschko in 2015. Now, there’s no denying his merit.
Fury (30-0-1, 21 KOs) remains undefeated and will likely try to set up a unification title fight against Anthony Joshua, who holds the WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight titles. This is the first loss of Wilder’s (42-1-1, 41 KOs) career.
“Deontay Wilder came here tonight, really showed the heart of a champion, I hit him with a clean right hand and he got back up and battled on into round seven – he is a warrior, he will be back, he will be a champion again, but I will say the king has returned to the top of the throne,” said Fury after the bout.
Meanwhile, Wilder was gracious in defeat.
“My corner threw in the towel but I was ready to go out on my shield,” he said. “There is no excuses. I am a warrior and I wanted to go back out on my shield. I will come back even stronger the next time around. This is what big time boxing is, the best must fight the best.”
The victory comes 14 months after the Mancunian’s controversial draw with Wilder – when he outboxed the WBC champion only for two knockdowns to deny him the famous green belt.
Fury vowed to take the fight to Wilder – and he did just that, flooring the champion twice and completely dominating the action.
A right hand which landed near Wilder’s left ear saw the champion go down heavily in the third and in the fifth and a right to the head and left hook to the body had a tired Wilder down again.
He was up quickly but tired as Fury looked to bring about a conclusive finish. Wilder was in a sorry state by the start of the seventh.
Another left hook had him hurt and all he could offer was his trademark, lazy, looping right hand. Fury pinned him in the corner and the towel came in to anoint a new world heavyweight champion.
Fury, dubbed the “Gypsy King”, entered the arena held aloft on a throne by handlers, a royal robe around his shoulders and a crown on his head as the song Crazy by Patsy Cline played.
Wilder followed a few minutes later, his face hidden behind a glittery mask and a rapper in front of him.
Both fighters were guaranteed $5m (£3.85m) for the bout but could make $40m (£30m) or so if the fight performs well on pay-per-view.
