HE is some sort of man this Tyson Fury.
Master of the noble art. Pantomime showman. Karaoke king. Charismatic folk hero. Mental health spokesman. WWE wrestler. Best-selling ‘author’. The undisputed king of the gypsies.
Tyson Fury proved he could do it all after dethroning Deontay WilderCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
And, it turns out, this man of infinite faculty is also capable of brutalising the hardest puncher the heavyweight division has seen in decades.
Fury, 31, has now taken on the two longest-serving heavyweight champions of this century in their own backyards and defeated both in wildly contrasting styles.
First he ended the nine-year reign of Wladimir Klitschko, in his adopted German homeland in November 2015, with a classic display of bob-and-weave.
Now the previously-undefeated WBC champion Deontay Wilder — the man with the Alabama hammer of a right hand who laid out opponents in 41 of 43 pro bouts.
Fury and his camp had told us all week he would attack Wilder from the first bell of this rematch and win a crushing stoppage victory.
No one believed them. Some thought him capable of out-boxing Wilder as he had for the vast majority of their epic drawn contest in Los Angeles in December 2018.
Not one of us thought he could prevail by virtue of sustained battery. No one thought he would be foolish enough to even try it.
But we should have listened because Fury was as good as his word.
Fury has now taken on the two longest-serving heavyweight champions of this century in their own backyardsCredit: Richard Pelham
Wilder’s corner threw in the towel midway through the seventh with their man pinned in the corner and suffering a fearsome leathering.
Fury, ridiculing the pre-fight jibes of Wilder, said: “People write me off because of my fat belly and bald head. I’m an old feather duster who couldn’t break an egg.
“Old pillow fists, eh? But I’m 6ft 9in and I’d had 21 knockouts without even looking for them before — I’d always tried to use my boxing skills.
“Now with this weight and this technique, I will knock out anybody. They said I’d underestimated Wilder and come for a payday but I felt like a beast in there.”
After he floored Wilder in the third and the fifth on his way to an extraordinary TKO, who will want to fight Fury now?
Anthony Joshua may hold three of the four major belts and yet there is no doubt Fury is the No 1 heavyweight on the planet.
Fury’s manager Frank Warren says, with little hyperbole, a Fury-Joshua showdown would be the biggest British sporting event since England won the 1966 World Cup.
But will Joshua fancy it, knowing he would surely be on a hiding to nothing?
Fury twice dropped Wilder in Las VegasCredit: Richard Pelham
Wilder’s corner threw in the towel midway through the seventh with their man pinned in the cornerCredit: Richard Pelham
Wilder, 34, can invoke a rematch clause within 30 days but is there really any appetite for a trilogy fight after such a comprehensive defeat? We already knew Fury was the supreme craftsman of the division.
Now, since ditching his trainer Ben Davison and moving to a more attacking style under the tutelage of SugarHill Steward, he is capable of out-punching them all, too.
Fury said: “Everybody knows I’m a master slick boxer, that I can jab and move and dance around the ring for 12 rounds but that didn’t work last time.
“I got a draw and a draw is a failure to me because all I do is win, win, win.
“This time the only way I could guarantee a win was getting a knockout. I’m my own worst critic and even though it was a fantastic performance and a great win, I know I can do better.
“I’ve only been working on this style for seven weeks with SugarHill.
“I’ll get straight back to work and we are going to be putting people to sleep left, right and centre.
“Don’t forget they said I can’t punch. Deontay said I couldn’t punch, he said I had pillow fists. Not bad for a fat guy who can’t punch, eh?
“Deontay is a dynamite puncher so I am pretty sure we will do it again. But if he doesn’t want to, then whoever my promoters put in front of me, I am happy with.
“And whoever that is, he will be getting the same treatment.”
On Saturday night in the MGM Grand Garden Arena it was difficult to recall that, just a couple of years ago, Fury has been a 28st waster, serving a drug ban and contemplating suicide because of crippling mental health issues.
Now, as Warren says, he has reinvented himself as a people’s champion.
Here, eight time zones from home, Fury’s supporters from the traveller community and beyond, dominated the 17,000 crowd.
And what a performance he put on, starting with a ring walk of staggering showmanship — not that Fury walked for much of it.
Clad in a crown and red robe, the Mancunian sat on a throne mounted on a sedan chair and was carried towards the battle zone to the tune of Patsy Cline’s ‘Crazy’, while he blew gloved kisses to his adoring masses.
The ability to perform camped-up comedy before such savage combat is a measure of this man’s remarkable unorthodoxy.
Then he attacked Wilder from the off and sent him crashing late in the third with a clean jab followed by a right over-the-top which left the champion bleeding from his ear.
Wilder never recovered and was floored for a second time — and only the third of his entire career — by a clubbing right to tee up a mighty left to the body.
And within minutes of the towel flying in, Fury was serenading Vegas with a flawless rendition of American Pie.
For Wilder, this truly was the day the music died.
Fury lived up to his Gypsy King name as he made his ring walkCredit: Richard Pelham
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
