Not Just Gypsy King, Tyson Fury Is King Of All Heavyweights; Fury Stops Wilder

He is not merely the Gypsy King, Tyson Fury proved himself to be King of all Heavyweights, and of all the sports world, at the MGM Grand, in Las Vegas, on Saturday night.

Fury did as he promised; he used his increased bulk to bully the sniper, sending Deontay Wilder to the mat, in rounds three and five. In round seven, Fury backed Wilder into a corner, threw launches, and forced the Wilder corner to throw in the towel. Ref Kenny Bayless was on the same wave-length, he hopped in to stop it with Wilder spewing blood out of a battered left ear.

After, Fury capped the night by singing “Miss American Pie” in center ring, with trainer Sugar Hill and promoter Bob Arum trying to remember the words.

Fury went 58-160, to 18-55, for the loser. The winning style was this: come forward, bully the bad guy, make the feared hitter back up, use the bulk to make him feel smaller. Use superior hand speed edge, by getting close, but responsibly so. It can't be said enough, how much credit Fury and his crew get, for picking that gas plan, deciding to get bigger, instead of going with the conventional wisdom, leaning out.

The event ran on Pay Per View, a collaboration between ESPN/Top Rank, and FOX/PBC.

Wilder, age 34, came in with a 42-0-1 record, and the Alabama boxer came in promising to remove any doubt from their first meeting, a draw, in December 2018.

Fury (29-0-1 entering), age 31, came in surprisingly heavier than in 2018, all the better to enable him to look to stop Wilder, because, he said, he views a draw as a loss.

The 6-7 Wilder came in 19 pounds heavier this time, 231 pounds, and promised to “knock him out, in devastating fashion,” right before heading out to the ring.

The 6-9 Fury, 256 1/2 last time, 273 on Friday, he said he wanted to “knock him out,” minutes before doing his ring walk.

In the first, Fury walked the walk. He came forward, was the aggressor, had Wilder backing up, and took the round. One right hand by Deontay had the crowd buzzing.

In the second, Fury took it; his ring generalship, hand speed and accuracy spoke louder.

In the third, a jab-right hand combo dropped Wilder. Wilder got up, looked to clinch, went to the mat and maybe was saved by the bell.

In the fourth, Fury was a mauling brawler, he'd smack Wilder, then grab on. Deontay's legs were still a bit iffy, but he got better as the round progressed.

In round five, Wilder looked weary. He hit the deck, again, this time off a body shot. It was a left hook to the body. We saw blood in the left ear of Wilder, maybe a busted ear drum? And Bayless took apoint from Fury, bad call.

In the sixth, Wilder looked close to the end. So weary, and Fury looked energized still. He was bullying the smaller man. Blood from Wilder was smeared all over Fury's face. Fury wiggled his tongue, a la Gene Simmons, as he saw blood. Trainer Jay Deas said, “Back him up, right hand.”

In the seventh, Wilder had no snap, and his hand speed wasn't of a caliber to surprise Fury. Bayless stopped it, as Wilder took shots in the corner. The towel was being thrown in by the Wilder corner as Bayless stepped in. Mark Breland explained to Wilder that the busted up ear was no bueno, that's whay they stopped it.

After, the victor spoke to Bernardo Osuna in center ring: “A big shout out to Deontay Wilder,” said Fury. “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 champion again. But I will say, the king has returned to the top of the throne!”

“Things like this happen,” said Wilder post-fight. “The best man won tonight, but my corner threw in the towel and I was ready to go out on my shield. I had a 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.”

Whoever lost this one was contractually entitled to a third match; the ball is presumably in Wilders’ court, and we believe he will accept the challenge.