Fury Vs Wilder Highlights And Opinion: A Deserved Draw!

The Heavyweight title bout between Deontay ‘the bronze bomber’ Wilder and Tyson ‘the gypsy king’ Fury lived up to the hype and then some. It was the lethal knockout artist vs the unique skill and technique within the body of a giant.

Opinions have been polarised since the split decision of judges declared a draw. Many believe that the two knockdowns from Wilder, the only two for the fight, were enough to deliver the American the win. Others believe that Fury outboxed Wilder for the majority of the fight. His ability to evade the punches of his opponent and land stiff left jabs and 1-2 combinations saw two of the judges give a majority of the rounds to the Englishman.

After a fairly even opening two rounds it began to appear that Fury, like he has done to all his opponents to date, had unsettled the champ. At 6’9″ he has a unique style where he bobs and jigs around his opponent nearly to the point where you could say he doesn’t know what he is doing. With this the case, how can it be expected that his opponent will?

Wilder seemed hesitant to throw his trademark right hand for the majority of the fight. Fury often kept him at bay with a stiff left jab that began to make itself evident on the left eye of Fury in the middle parts of the fight. It was clear that rounds 3-8 belonged to the Gypsy. The crowd was entertained with trademark showboating at the conclusion of rounds and sometimes on the completion of flurries from both fighters.

The momentum of the fight swung slightly when Wilder knocked down Fury with a less than convincing left-right haymaker combination in the 9th round. Fury showed no damage from this exchange and was quick to his feet smiling. This was the first clear-cut round for the Bronze Bomber, the first round arguably could of went his way too.

Fury responded gamely early in the 10th, landing multiple left-right straight combinations on a tired Wilder. In trademark fashion, Wilder finished the round with a flurry. Not many of these punches landed with any authority.

Wilder threw everything into the 11th round in what seemed like a last-ditch attempt to keep his title. He landed some trademark clubbing hooks and may have just edged out Fury for the round. During the final break, Fury’s corner seemed confident if he didn’t get knocked down he had done enough to win the fight. His instructions were to keep ducking, a strategy that had worked really well for the duration of the fight. Instead, now they wanted him to duck and clinch to seal the deal. The Gypsy King will look back on that advice regret.

Early in the final round, Wilder stung Fury with a fierce straight right followed by a crushing left hook to drop Fury and made his eyes roll in the back of his head. No one expected what happened next. Arms sprawled across the ring, like a possessed zombie, Fury’s eyes widened and he sat straight up, rising from the dead.

Not only did he last the round but he landed many significant strikes and continued to perform to the crowd with his arms behind his back.

The final decision, a draw.

Judge Tapper: Fury 114-110 Wilder (Fury winning 5 of the first 6 rounds).

Judge Rochin: Wilder 115- Fury 111 (Wilder winning the first 4 rounds).

Judge Edwards: 113-113 Draw (Fury winning 4 of the first 5 rounds).

The disparity between the judges over the first 5-6 rounds is where the debate is held here. How can two judges score so many wins to Fury yet another declares the opposite in the same rounds?

Boxing is a subjective sport. People see it differently and a draw maybe is the correct decision for an epic bout that could rival the Joshua vKlitschko fight as a modern day greatest encounter.

One thing is for sure, in an era where UFC and MMA have zoomed to amazing heights, boxing has something to work with now. A rematch will no doubt be on the cards at some stage but there is enough depth in the heavyweight division to suggest it may not happen anytime soon. Will Anthony Joshua get his long-awaited crack at the champ?

Louis Ortiz confirmed his contender status with a savage display on the undercard. Fury has already shown the heart of a champion in overcoming the odds just to step back into the ring and since pledging to donate his 8 billion pound purse to help the homeless. Could he again show great humility in fighting Ortiz in a boxing megacard that could also see the long awaited dual between Wilder and Joshua?

Watch the full highlights below.