Fury stops Wilder to become new WBC champ
The biggest heavyweight rematch this decade concluded in Las Vegas Saturday night as Tyson Fury is the new WBC heavyweight champion of the world as he defeats Deontay Wilder to close out the night of fights at the MGM Grand Casino & Resort.
The joint pay-per-view effort by Fox and ESPN will undoubtedly be a successful one, as they continue counting final gate figures as a packed crowd saw Fury fight his fight and battered Wilder over seven rounds. With the loss, Wilder suffers his first career loss, as a pro (42-1-1, 41 KOs), while Fury remains undefeated (30-0, 21 KOs).
The big question of concern for Fury coming in was: would he be able to knock out Wilder? Fury came in at 273 pounds at the weigh-in, which was 42 pounds heavier than Wilder at 231 and made every pound of it count in the contest. Fury sent Wilder down with a right to the ear in the third round, and from that moment on, it went downhill for Wilder.
Wilder was sent down in the fifth, as well from a body shot. A bizarre’ licking scene happened to close out the sixth round as Wilder was bleeding from the blasts was being licked by Fury in something that can’t be described in words.
When I'm waiting for the Wawa sandwich #WildervsFury2 pic.twitter.com/OhrEFNG5cX
— Tyson Fury Ordering a Lucha Mask (@BoxrecGrey) February 23, 2020
The seventh-round was the last in this contest, as referee Kenny Bayless stopped the bout at 1:39 of the seventh round because the towel was thrown. Wilder asked his co-trainers, Jay Deas and Mark Breland, why he tossed the towel in as when the fight was waved off Wilder landed a counter on Fury showing he still might have had some fight left in the contest.
This fight was heavily promoted and didn’t disappoint with the main event having elaborate entrances, which gave it the big fight feel as expected. Top Rank released the numbers so far as of this report, and needless to say, the money was record-breaking.
They announced that the gate made $16,916,440, which is the highest-grossing gate for a Heavyweight championship fight in Nevada history.
Some #WilderFury2 venue numbers of note:
Total sell-out attendance: 15,816
Total gate: $16,916,440 (highest-grossing gate for a Heavyweight championship fight in Nevada history)
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— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) February 23, 2020
“Shout out to Wilder. He showed the heart of a champion. He is a warrior. But I will say the king has returned.” Fury said after the fight.
The question now begins how soon do we get the rematch for this one. It’s well-known that there is a rematch clause set up for this one with money already figured out at a 60/40 split and will be another pay-per-view bout. This fight making the biggest gate in Nevada history only means we get this run back sooner than later.
Marquis Johns is a unknown humorist and avid boxing fan. His love for the sweet science goes back to when matches were 15 rounds and has been covering fights since closed-circuit pay-per-views. Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth is not only a quote by Mike Tyson, it's also a pretty good reminder to keep your guard up.
