Tyson Fury vs Deontay Wilder 3

Five knockdowns were shared before the third contest between the two leading heavyweights of their generation ended with Deontay Wilder lying insensible beneath the ropes. Tyson Fury survived two visits to the floor in the fourth round, then wore down and knocked out the former champion at one minute 10 seconds of the eleventh at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on October 9, 2021.

Fury was defending the WBC and Ring heavyweight championships he had taken from Wilder 20 months earlier. Their first meeting, in Los Angeles in December 2018, had ended in a disputed draw after Fury rose from two knockdowns. In the return, Fury abandoned his elusive style, advanced behind the jab and stopped Wilder in seven rounds. A proposed fight between Fury and Anthony Joshua was then displaced when an arbitrator upheld Wilder’s contractual right to a third meeting. The contest was first fixed for July 2021 but postponed after Fury tested positive for Covid-19.

Both men entered at the heaviest weights of their careers. Fury, unbeaten in 31 contests, weighed 277 pounds. Wilder, whose record stood at 42-1-1, was 238, some seven pounds heavier than in the second fight. A crowd of 15,820 attended. Wilder had replaced trainer Mark Breland with Malik Scott and began with a noticeably revised plan, driving his jab into Fury’s body instead of immediately searching for the right hand. Fury watched, measured and did comparatively little during the opening round, which Wilder took through his activity.

Fury began to move forward in the second, using his greater weight in the clinches and bringing the right hand over Wilder’s lowered left. The challenger continued working to the body but could not maintain the disciplined boxing of the first round once Fury started pressing him. In the third, Fury trapped Wilder near the ropes and dropped him with a heavy right hand following an uppercut. Wilder rose unsteadily and was subjected to another attack before the bell, but he remained upright.

The contest turned again in the fourth. Wilder, still dangerous despite his uncertain legs, struck with a right hand that sent Fury down. The champion beat Russell Mora’s count but had not fully recovered when another right dropped him for the second time late in the round. Fury rose once more and reached the bell. Wilder had overcome his own knockdown and, after four rounds, had regained both the initiative and the numerical advantage created by the two falls.

Fury recovered during the fifth by holding when necessary, forcing Wilder backwards and making the American carry his 277-pound frame. Wilder’s early body attack had largely disappeared, and his punches became wider as fatigue set in. He still found enough success in the sixth to remain narrowly ahead on all three official cards, 56–55, but the pattern was moving against him. Fury was able to work at close quarters, striking with short uppercuts and hooks before leaning heavily upon his opponent.

From the seventh onward, Wilder’s condition declined markedly. His mouth was open, his legs were stiff, and he frequently needed the ropes to support him. Fury jabbed at the swelling around Wilder’s eyes, followed by straight rights and continued to maul him in the clinches. Wilder showed considerable courage and occasionally threatened with the right hand, but his attacks were now isolated. Referee Mora watched him closely during the seventh as Fury landed repeatedly to the head.

The eighth and ninth followed the same course. Fury controlled the distance when he wanted room and used his size whenever Wilder came close. The challenger absorbed uppercuts, hooks and clubbing rights, yet refused to surrender. His own right hand remained sufficient to prevent complete carelessness, but he lacked the strength to follow up whenever it landed. Fury, though also tired, was breathing more easily and retained much better balance.

A short right hand put Wilder down again in the tenth. He rose with little steadiness but answered late in the round, catching Fury with a right that briefly checked the champion’s advance. It was a final reminder of the power which had altered the first fight and nearly settled the third. By then, however, Wilder was behind on every card. Dave Moretti had Fury ahead 95–91, Steve Weisfeld 95–92 and Tim Cheatham 94–92.

Fury resumed behind the jab in the eleventh and drove Wilder towards the ropes. A right uppercut lifted the challenger’s head before a full right hand struck him on the side of the face. Wilder fell heavily and made no attempt to rise. Mora immediately waved the contest over without completing a count. Fury had retained the championship by knockout at 1:10.

The figures reflected the punishment accumulated after Wilder’s success in the fourth. Fury landed 150 of 385 punches, while Wilder connected with 72 of 355. The champion held a 114–63 advantage in power punches and, according to CompuBox, outlanded Wilder in every round, including the fourth in which he was twice knocked down. Fury advanced his record to 31-0-1, while Wilder suffered the second defeat of his career. Their rivalry ended with one draw and two victories for Fury, but the last contest had demanded more from both men than either of the first two.

I thought Wilder finally arrived with a proper plan. He jabbed Fury’s body, kept his right hand under control and won the opening round without wasting energy. The trouble was that the discipline lasted barely three minutes. Once Fury backed him up and dropped him in the third, Wilder returned to loading up on single punches.

That extraordinary fourth round kept him alive. Wilder put Fury down twice and reminded everyone why no heavyweight could ever relax against him. But Fury’s recovery separated them. He stayed calm, cleared his head and went straight back to leaning, mauling and making Wilder carry 277 pounds. By the seventh, Wilder was exhausted, upright and fighting almost entirely on courage. Fury could jab him at range, uppercut him inside and force him backwards whenever he chose.

I admired Wilder’s refusal to surrender, but the fight was allowed to continue too long. After the seventh, he was taking punishment without having the balance or energy to mount a sustained attack. Fury dropped him in the tenth and finished him brutally in the eleventh. The statistics—150 punches landed to 72—show how one-sided it became.

It was tremendous entertainment, but technically the lesson was straightforward. Wilder had the power to change the fight in a second; Fury had the adaptability, size, recovery and ring intelligence to keep changing it back. That is why Fury won their rivalry.