BIGGER AND HEAVIER FURY DETHRONES WILDER
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 24 Feb 2020
The bigger, heavier and more destructive Tyson Fury floored Deontay Wilder twice leading to the stoppage of fight in the seventh round of their WBC heavyweight title rematch at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada. Fury (30-0-1, 21 KOs) knocked Wilder (42-1-1, 41 KOs) down each in the third and fifth rounds and completely pummeled the American prompting Wilder’s assistant trainer Mark Breland to throw in the towel. Against Wilder’s will, referee Kenny Bayless signalled the end of the fight at 1:39 of the seventh round.
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“I’m doing good,” Wilder told ESPN’s Bernardo Osuna after the stoppage. “Things like this happen. The best man won tonight, but my corner threw in the towel and I was ready to go out on my shield. I had lot of things going on heading into this fight. It is what it is, but I make no excuses tonight. I just wish my corner would have let me go out on my shield. I’m a warrior. He had a great performance and we will be back stronger.”
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According to CompuBox, Fury landed 82 of 267 total punches than Wilder’s 34 out of 141, an advantage of 48 more punches. Fury also had more power punches, 58 out of 160 to Wilder’s 18 out of 55. Fury likewise connected more jabs, 24 out of 107 while Wilder had 16 out of 86.
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All three judges Glenn Feldman (58-53), Dave Moretti (59-52) and Steve Weisfeld (59-52) had Fury ahead in points before the seventh round stoppage. Fury won every round according to Moretti and Weisfeld. On Feldman’s card, Wilder won only the second round.
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With the TKO win, Fury wrested the WBC belt and gained the vacant The Ring heavyweight title, and retained the lineal heavyweight title. While the contract that the two heavyweights dealt with in agreeing to a rematch provides an option for a trilogy if the loser desires, most of the boxing world wants to see the winner fight Anthony Joshua. The WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight champion, lost his titles to Andy Ruiz, Jr. but won the rematch and Joshua is the most preferred opponent for either Fury or Wilder.
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Fury floored Wilder twice before the capacity crowd of 15,816. It was the opposite of their first fight when it was Wilder who knocked Fury down twice. The 6-feet-9, 273-pound Fury came in 16½ pounds heavier than their first fight, giving him a 42-pound advantage over Wilder, who at 6-foot-7 weighed in at a career-high 231 and is 18½ pounds heavier than their first fight. The additional weight certainly helped Fury to aggressively wear down his lighter opponent by leaning on him.
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After all the trash talking to hype up the coming of the rematch, Fury praised Wilder’s toughness in the post fight interview. "A big shout out to Deontay Wilder,” Fury said. “He came here tonight and he manned up. And he really did show the heart of a champion. I hit him with a clean right that dropped him, and he got back up. 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!”
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The 34-year-old Wilder from Tuscaloosa, Alabama was the long-reigning WBC heavyweight champion for five years before losing. The 2008 Beijing Olympic bronze medalist had made ten successful defenses of the title he won from Bermane Stiverne, a Haitian-Canadian, by unanimous decision in January 2015 at MGM Grand Garden Arena.
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From the opening bell, Fury was in charge of the fight. In the third, Fury threw big punches as Wilder ducked. Fury knocked Wilder down with thundering left and right combinations. The crowd of mostly English Fury fans shouted in approval. In the fifth round, Wilder was floored again, from a solid left to the body.
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In the sixth round, blood began pouring from Wilder’s left ear apparently from a damaged ear drum. Fury licked the blood on Wilder’s neck in a clinch, showing that the WBC champion is losing and like a prey about to be eaten. In the seventh round, Wilder’s corner threw in the towel.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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