by Jake Chaney,
The United Kingdom’s Tyson Fury has retained The World Heavyweight Championship for the 6th time, shocking the sporting world by becoming the first man to defeat Deontay Wilder, stopping him at 1 minute 39 seconds of the 7th round of their Las Vegas contest. The American’s team threw in the towel.
In arguably the most anticipated Heavyweight bout since Lennox Lewis dismantled Mike Tyson in Memphis, almost 18 years ago, 6’9” Tyson Fury not only outboxed but also outpunched feared puncher, 6’7” Deontay Wilder - from start to finish.
Fury was introduced by Jimmy Lennon Jr. as the “reigning Lineal Heavyweight Champion of the World.” Tyson left the ring with that title, along with his unbeaten record, still intact.
Fury utilised a powerful jab, catching Wilder with hard lefts and right crosses at range. In close, his strength was also evident, pushing his opponent around with ease, and hurting him body shots. Wilder was knocked down in the 3rd round, again with a left hook to the body in the 5th, and had blood dripping from his mouth and left ear when his cornerman threw in the towel midway through round 7. Wilder’s two knockdowns rescued him from defeat in 2018, but this time, despite a brave effort he simply could not land one of his bombs on the elusive Gypsy King.
Wladimir Klitschko was universally considered to be the true Lineal Champion, via his #1 Vs #3 matchup versus Ruslan Chagaev in 2009 (Wladimir would not fight #2, his brother, Vitali), so when Fury dethroned him in Germany in 2015, he took his World Championship. It’s worth recalling that Fury was tested for PEDs for this bout, both in the run up to, and after the contest, and he was deemed “clean” each time. There were no complaints from Team Klitschko or from the bodies that sanctioned the bout.
For those still confused about Fury’s “Twitter” comments in 2016, it’s worth noting that the editor of Ring Magazine contacted Team Fury at the time regarding the issue, and was told that Tyson was “definitely NOT permanently out of this sport.” By mid-2018 Fury was fighting again.
It is true that Fury’s opening two defences were against low quality opponents (reminiscent of a few of Tommy Burns’ foes during his long stretch as champion), but Otto Wallin and Tom Schwarz were more credible, and his two fights with the undefeated Deontay Wilder on American soil warrant respect.
On an all-time list ranked by consecutive defences made by the 44 Lineal Heavyweight Champions, Tyson Fury’s current tally of 6 defences ties him with Lennox Lewis and Rocky Marciano - Fury is at No.10 (see below). At only 31 years of age, and with plenty of intriguing potential foes available where he would be the favourite to win (Joshua, Whyte, Parker and a Wilder trilogy, to name a few), Fury, the tallest and heaviest Lineal Champion in history, may well rise up this list.
Louis: 25
Burns: 13
Holmes: 12
Wladimir: 11
Ali (2nd reign): 10
Johnson: 9
Jeffries: 9
Ali (1st reign): 9
Charles: 8
Marciano: 6
Lennox Lewis (1st reign): 6
Tyson Fury: 6
Dempsey: 5
Frazier: 4
Patterson (1st reign): 4
Sullivan: 4
Holyfield (1st reign): 3
Foreman (2nd reign): 3
Michael Spinks: 3
Lewis (2nd reign): 3
Patterson (2nd reign): 3
Foreman (1st reign): 2
Mike Tyson: 2
Bowe: 2
Carnera: 2
Tunney: 2
Corbett: 2
Liston: 1
Walcott: 1
Willard: 1
Fitzsimmons: 1
Moorer: 0
Douglas: 0
Rahman: 0
Briggs: 0
Holyfield (2nd reign): 0
Braddock: 0
Baer: 0
Sharkey: 0
Schmeling: 0
Johansson: 0
Hart: 0
Leon Spinks: 0
Ali (3rd reign): 0
