Tyson Fury v Deontay Wilder 2: A Modern Day Classic
Fury-Wilder 2
MGM Grand, Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas
22nd February 2020
WBC Heavyweight Title
Official Weight: 273 pounds/123.83 Kg (Fury) 231 pounds/104.78 Kg
(Wilder)
Round One: Tyson Fury, as promised in the pre-fight build up, rushed out at the bell to claim the centre of the ring and take the fight to the hard hitting champion. This time around the challenger looked to land a solid jab and follow it up with a hard right, where last time out he worked behind a flicking jab.
It was Wilder who connected with the first solid right of the contest,
but Fury shook it off and proceeded with the game plan. The challenger
connected with a big right of his own and made WIlder retreat and cover up. The
Gypsy King hardly put a foot wrong in the opening three minutes and had the
champion on the backfoot with his solid left lead.
Round Two: The jab was again a dominating factor,
snapping back Wilder’s head until he found one of his big rights to even things
out. Fury took it well and continued to press forward. His jab was causing
problems and just before the bell he landed his best right hand of the fight so
far. Wilder wasn’t done and clipped the challenger with a right high on the
head and after a retaliatory right hook both men found themselves in a corner
rabbit punching each other at the bell.
With 35 seconds of the round remaining Fury clipped Wilder around the
left ear with a right. The champion tasted the canvas as the referee led Fury
to a neutral corner. To the champion’s dismay Bayless initiated a count.
Wilder was on unsteady feet as Fury landed another right. They came
together and the champion’s forward momentum had him falling to the floor, as
the referee waved his hands in a no knockdown gesture. It was a big round for
Fury and Wilder trundled back to his corner with a bloody lip and blood pouring
out of his left ear.
Round Four: Wilder started with a positive jab,
only for Fury to drive forward again and put the champion on the backfoot.
Wilder’s legs were still unsteady and he fell to the canvas after getting
caught up with Fury’s feet. Bayless getsured no knockdown, wiped down Wilder’s
gloves and let the action resume.
Fury landed a right, then easily evaded a cumbersome right from the
champion, before tying him up. The Gypsy King used his weight and size to
continue his assault forward. He couldn’t miss Wilder, who resembled Bamdi on
ice at times, before unleashing an ineffective right to end the round.
Round Five: Fury started with a salvo of rights which had the champion retreating to the ropes, swinging wild rights of his own in retaliation. The challenger was now roughing up Wilder on the inside and the Bronze Bomber wasn’t used to being manhandled by an opponent.
The challenger bulled forward, using his considerable size and strength,
firing a left hook to the head. When Wilder blocked the punch Fury threw a left
hook to the body. The force of the punch put the champion down for the second
time in the fight.
It wasn’t a damaging body blow as Wilder got up straight away. The
knockdown just cemented another dominant round and the champion was already a
mile behind on the judges’ cards. Fury piled on the pressure as Wilder
responded with a right. The momentum of the punch along with his unbalanced
equilibrium nearly sent him to the canvas for a third time.
Wilder looked like a ragdoll and it seemed Fury just needed to catch him
with one clean punch and the WBC belt would be changing hands. To Wilder’s
credit he managed to take the punches without going down.
Bayless then harshly deducted a point from the challenger for pushing
the champion’s head down, turning a 10-8 round into a 9-8 one. The point
deduction didn’t faze the Gypsy King as he finished the round with a flurry.
Round Six: Wilder was still having issues with his
balance, stumbling back as Fury advanced forward and let his hands go whilst in
a corner. The challenger continued to bully forward and the champion was having
difficulty keeping the heavier man at bay. The Gypsy King could hardly miss as
the Bronze Bomber seemed content to stay on the ropes and let the challenger
tee off on him.
Fury’s face and body was covered in blood; it wasn’t his, it came from
the cut lip and bleeding ear of his opponent, who looked there for the taking
as he wearily made his way back to the corner.
Round Seven: The
challenger stalked forward and landed a lead left hook. Fury patiently jabbed,
stalking his prey before springing into action. Wilder backed away and tied up
the bigger man as the referee separated them and carefully looked at the bloody
champion before allowing them to continue.
Suddenly the champion sprang into action with Fury
easily evading the punches coming his way. Fury once again stalked forward and
had Wilder covering up in the ring corner. He wasn’t taking anything clean but
it was apparent the champion had nothing left and trainer Mark Breland threw in
the towel at the one minute and 39 second mark of the round.
Result: Fury won by TKO
Judges’ Scorecards after six completed rounds: Glenn Feldman 58-52 (Fury), Dave Moretti 59-52 (Fury), Steve Weisfeld
59-52 (Fury).
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