THE GYPSY KING IS THE KING OF BOXING! #WilderFury2 pic.twitter.com/3qDbApeXsH
— ESPN (@espn) February 23, 2020
When Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder first met back in December 2018, it was a nip-and-tuck boxing match that ended in a draw, but Saturday night in Las Vegas was vastly different.
When the heavyweights first collided at Staples Center, Fury boxed beautifully and had Wilder guessing throughout. However, a knockdown of Fury in the ninth and then a near-decapitation of the Brit in the 12th moved the scores closer and neither man was declared the victor. Inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena in the rematch, though, Fury made sure it never came close to going to the scorecards.
Fury backed “The Bronze Bomber” up right off the bat behind his jab and he kept Wilder at bay. The 2008 Olympic bronze medalist was a step behind Fury early and often and was having a terrible time landing his crushing right hand. Fury (30-0-1, 21 KO) flustered the American repeatedly and whenever Wilder got close enough, Fury simply tied him up.
Everything changed in the third, though. Fury backed Wilder (42-1-1, 41 KO) toward the ropes and then pelted him with a left, followed by a clubbing overhand right behind the ear. Wilder’s legs gave way and he crumbled to the canvas and when he arose back to his feet, it was clear he was battered. Fury, sensing an early knockout, closed the gap and unloaded a barrage of punches, sending Wilder to the canvas again. Referee Kenny Bayless ruled it a slip, but when Wilder climbed back up to his feet, he stumbled around and was saved by the bell.
Fury’s assault continued for nearly four more rounds as he battered the heavily-tattooed Alabama native from pillar to post. Wilder was exhausted, bleeding from his left ear and hurt by every right hand “The Gypsy King” landed. Wilder was felled again in the fifth after he swallowed a combo to the head and absorbed a left to the chest. Again, the defending World Boxing Council heavyweight champion climbed back to his feet but he was in such deep water, he needed a miracle.
Bayless deducted a point from Fury later in the fifth for repeated blows to the back of the head in the clinch, but the point infraction was never going to be a part of the outcome. Fury continued his assault on the American and finally forced Wilder’s corner to throw in the towel midway through the seventh. Wilder was pressed into a corner and covering up a volley of punches when his corner launched the white towel over the ropes. Once Bayless saw it, he immediately waved off the massacre, officially ending the battle at 1:39 of the round.