The Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury rivalry is one of the most significant ones in the history of boxing. There is so much history behind their contention, and it has brought boxing back into the spotlight of national sports.
Covid-19 had slowed the normal momentum and excitement around boxing, and athletes in the sport are turning towards legends like these to sustain the sport. Unlike soccer or football, where the players can play outside, in boxing, the boxers are breathing all over each other, and they are inside an enclosed arena which made it hard to continue during the pandemic.
Deontay “The Bronze Bomber” Wilder recently squared up against “The Furious One,” “The Gypsy King,” Tyson Fury, for a third time to complete their trilogy. Going into the fight, Wilder had a record of 42 wins, two losses, and one tie with 41 KO’s (knockouts), while Fury had a record of 31 wins, 0 losses, and one tie with 20 KO’s. This was one of the most anticipated boxing matches of recent years because of their previous encounters. In their first match, the fight ended in a draw. In their second meeting, Fury won due to a knockout and secured the World Boxing Council Belt.
“It made me do things I didn’t wanna do. When we’re taken out of our comfort zone and pressed and pressed and pressed, then we become better….I kept working on my boxing – boxed, boxed, boxed”
The draw was a surprising result and fueled both boxers to train even harder. “The draw played a massive role because it’s made me uncomfortable,” Fury said on a recent conference call. “It made me do things I didn’t wanna do. When we’re taken out of our comfort zone and pressed and pressed and pressed, then we become better….I kept working on my boxing – boxed, boxed, boxed”(Jackson). Both fighters believed that they had out-boxed each other and Wilder was very frustrated with the result. Over the years, Wilder has been emerging as a top heavyweight boxer, but Fury emerged victorious in their latest match. They both were eager to come out on top of this trilogy, and Fury ultimately managed to defend his belt.
Despite the controversial and frustrating outcome, Wilder and Fury both succeeded in getting great shots and punches in against each other. The epic clash will definitely put this fight into the “fight of the year” category. After 11 rounds of back and forth clashes, Fury closed out the match with a TKO (knockout). In the first round of the fight, Wilder got off to a strong start, landing shots on Fury’s body often and early. Wilder was pouncing on Fury all round and looked like the stronger and more capable fighter. He backed him into the corner and landed even more intense hits, but then Fury quickly bounced back with multiple jabs. The score at the end of the first round was 10-9, Wilder.
In the second round, Fury began to bounce back. Fury kept working inside with quick and sharp jabs. In order to remain on top, Wilder needed an adequate defense to react to those jabs and maintain his offensive pressure. After the second round, the score was tied at 19-19.
In the third round, the positions fully reversed from the beginning, and Wilder found himself taking all of Fury’s jabs. Fury was the aggressor in this round, landing so many big shots that Wilder remained almost completely on the defensive. Fury finally drilled Wilder with a right jab and uppercut, sending him violently to the ground. The round ended with Fury victorious by two points in a score of 10-8.
In the fourth round, Fury’s punching combination backed Wilder into the ropes, and, although Wilder was trying to fight back, Fury continued to manipulate and thrash his opponent with repeating jabs to the head.
The match seemed to be ending when one aggressive right hand swing from Wilder sent Fury to the ground, but Fury surprisingly made a great recovery and continued to brawl. The fourth round brought Wilder back into the match competitively, as he was up by three points with a score of 10-7 and an overall score of 37-36 Wilder.
In the fifth and sixth rounds, Wilder maintained much of his momentum. Wilder came crashing down on Fury with repeated right hand jabs that had impressive and consistent accuracy. Fury showed some success with a rocket right handed jab to Wilder’s face and barely emerged victorious from the fifth round, leaving the overall score tied. Round six was fairly similar to round five with lots of back and forth jabs and a fairly split round. Fury barely succeeded with a score of 10-9, leaving the total score at 56-55, Fury.
Through the final five rounds, the tide turned once again in Fury’s favor. Wilder tried to dance around Fury, but Fury surprised him with a wicked left hook, stopping Wilder in his tracks. Fury then leaned in for a full body combination and blasted Wilder with all of his remaining strength. Wilder nearly went down again. In the final round, round eleven, Fury finished it off with a knockout and managed to retain his WBC belt and complete the trilogy.
This was a fight of the decade and continues to be talked about around the world. This fight surely helped to revive interest in boxing, and the entire trilogy felt like it came straight out of the Rocky movies.
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