29th March 2024
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Tyson Fury Caps Wild Trilogy With Late Knockout Of Deontay Wilder – New York Times

Tyson Fury Caps Wild Trilogy With Late Knockout Of Deontay Wilder – New York Times

By Emmanuel Morgan and Morgan Campbell

Fury beat Wilder in the 11th round to keep his heavyweight title, finishing a trilogy bout that was certain to be an instant classic.

There’s no second-guessing it this time for Deontay Wilder. There’s no one else to blame, either. No trainer threw in the towel. The exotic costume he wore wasn’t as heavy. No judge can award him another fight.

For the second time in 20 months, Wilder tasted the devastating blows of Tyson Fury. Just like then, Wilder lost. In this iteration of the contest we’ve seen three times now, Fury (31-0-1) knocked out Wilder (42-2-1) in the 11th round, dropping him with a right hook near the ropes.

Wilder’s body collapsed limp into the center of the ring and the referee mercifully ended the bout. Fury raised his hands in victory as he walked to his corner knowing that he had retained the World Boxing Council heavyweight belt, which he had stripped from the same man so long ago when to Americans the coronavirus seemed like a distant problem on the other side of the world.

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There are no moral victories, but to Wilder’s credit, he competed in a trilling fight. Unlike in their previous meeting in February 2020, Wilder forced Fury into the later rounds, zapping his energy and knocking him down twice. He handled the clinch of the larger man well in the beginning, too.

Fury, though, withstood the damage and also knocked Wilder down two times before the knockout. In Round 10, Wilder threw a punch, missed and Fury connected with a counter right, sending Wilder to the canvas.

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Though Wilder recovered, it clearly hurt him heading into the next round, leading to the climatic finish.

“I always said I was the best in the world and he was the second best,” Fury said. “Don’t ever doubt me. When the chips are down, I will always deliver.”

The rubber match’s result should streamline the heavyweight division, which has stalled for months after the pandemic and the court system complicated this trilogy. Wilder most likely will compete against the winner of the fight between Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua in a title unification bout. Usyk defeated Joshua via unanimous decision last month, and Joshua’s promoter told ESPN that the fighter had exercised his rematch clause.

Fury and Joshua had signed a two-fight deal in March, but an arbitrator ruled that Fury had to complete the trifecta with Wilder. The two also fought to a draw in 2018.

The third fight had been scheduled for July, but Fury and members of his camp tested positive for the coronavirus, postponing the bout until Saturday. In a locker room interview before the fight, Fury said he had contracted the virus twice.

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Wilder bulked up to 238 pounds, the largest he ever weighed for his professional career. He fired his former trainer, Mark Breland and hired Malik Scott, a boxer whom he defeated in 2014, to diversify his approach.

In his last clash with Fury, Wilder said the 40-pound costume he wore weakened his legs. On Saturday, he walked with a minimalist (by his standards) robe. None of those factors saved him, though, from experiencing his second loss, and to the same person.

He will always be remembered as the man who defended his heavyweight belt 10 times, and as a powerful knockout artist. But Fury left no lingering questions and completed this trilogy in a conclusive fashion. The 15,820 spectators in T-Mobile Arena believed it. So did those who watched it on pay-per-view. Like it or not, Wilder will be forced to, as well.

“I did my best but it wasn’t good enough tonight,” Wilder said.

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