By Ken Foyle ‘20

On Feb. 22, the World Heavyweight Championship in boxing took place in Las Vegas, Nev. The two competitors were Deontay Wilder, who went into the fight at 42-0-1, and Tyson Fury, whose record was 29-0-1.

Both Wilder and Fury are enormous in stature with Wilder standing at 6’7” and Fury walking around at 6’9”. The last time these two behemoths met, the fight ended in a draw.

Senior Declan Docherty said, “I couldn’t have been more excited for this fight! These two fighters are extremely deserving of their positions in the World Championship.”

Deontay Wilder is one of, if not the hardest hitter in boxing, and has the ability to end any fight in one punch. Out of his 42 wins, only one of them was not a knockout.

Fury, on the other hand, uses much more movement and strategy on behalf of his fighting style. He dances around his opponents with his sheer elusiveness and uses his 271 lb body as one of his greatest tools.

Being the second match between these two brutes, the tensions were high and the stakes were higher. On the line was the World Heavyweight Champion Belt.

Round 1 started out fairly tame, with each fighter jabbing away at one another. Not many significant strikes were given or taken during this round, but Fury landed three more than Wilder.

Rounds 2 and 3 were much more intense. Fury began to light up Wilder, and Wilder slowed down immensely. With 36 seconds remaining in Round 3, Fury landed a right overhand on Wilder, sending him to the ground immediately.

During rounds 4 and 5, Wilder looked very tired and he seemed off balance. Every 30 seconds or so, he and Fury would grapple and Wilder struggled to stand up. Round after round of putting all his weight on Wilder’s shoulder gave Fury the upper hand.

“I knew Fury was a great fighter, but I didn’t realize he was that much more dominant than Wilder,” said senior Bill O’Connell.

Round 6 was the most eventful round of the fight. Fury started to dominate Wilder, and he landed some huge body shots and jabs during this round.

Fury went into the fight thirsty for blood, and blood was what he got. Wilder was so badly beaten, that during a grapple between the fighters, Fury licked the blood off Wilder’s neck.

Joe Buck exclaimed, “[What] was he just doing with his tongue right there?”

Round 7 rolled around, and everyone watching knew how it was going to end. After brutally wounding and embarrassing Wilder, referee Kenny Bayless stopped the fight. This resulted in a TKO victory for Fury and Wilder’s first loss.

This fight for the ages was over, and it showed fans worldwide that Tyson Fury is the most dangerous boxer in the sport.

Sources:

https://www.premierboxingchampions.com/deontay-wilder

https://www.fite.tv/fighter/tyson-fury/4699/

https://www.cbssports.com/boxing/news/deontay-wilder-vs-tyson-fury-2-fight-results-highlights-undercard-winner-complete-guide/