Tyson Fury clawed his way back to the top of the boxing world on Saturday night when “The Gypsy King” defeated Deontay Wilder to become the WBC and The Ring Heavyweight Champion. The British champion beat Wilder after his corner threw in the towel in the 7th round to claim the titles at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Wilder and Fury had previously fought to a split-decision draw, the only one in either man’s career, back in December 2018.
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Wilder was incredibly confident walking into the event, claiming in a media conference call that Fury was clearly nervous after he switched trainers just two months before the title fight.
“Deep down in his heart, I really feel that he’s nervous,” Wilder said in the call. “I really feel he’s very, very nervous from the first time what happened. When you knock a person down and give them a concussion, you never forget that. You never forget who did that to you and how they did it.
“When you’re going back in there with them a second time to relive that moment all over again, it has to be stressful. You definitely can’t sleep at night,” he added.
Fury was at the absolute top of his game back in 2015 when he beat Wladimir Klitschko to win the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, IBO, The Ring and Lineal Heavyweight Championships. But one by one all of those titles were relinquished (with the exception of the Lineal, which can only be lost after someone beats you) due to personal issues and a lengthy hiatus from boxing. He finally returned to the ring in June 2018 and picked up two more wins before starting his feud with Wilder.
In between the two fights Fury increased his public profile by stepping into the world of professional wrestling. He made his in-ring debut for the WWE at the Crown Jewel pay-per-view event in October 2019 and beat Braun Strowman via count-out.
Cover photo by MARK RALSTON/AFP via Getty Images
