After a controversial split draw of their first match in December 2018, professional boxing heavyweights Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury faced each other again on February 22, 2020.
Up to this night, both were unbeaten. “The Bronze Bomber” Wilder was at 40-0-1 and “Gypsy King” Fury at 29-0-1.
Wilder had held the WBA belt since 2015 and boasted a 98% knockout rate with 20 knockouts in the first round.
Fury held the unified WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, IBO, Ring and lineal titles after defeating long-reigning champion Wladimir Klitschko in 2015 but after a bout of depression and alleged cocaine abuse relinquished the titles in 2016, returning to the ring in June 2018.
Big numbers
The hugely anticipated rematch drew in 1.4 million live coverage viewers, almost 2 million PPV (Pay-per-View) buys and $18 million in live gate ticket sales.
Huge numbers befitting two huge opponents. The 34-year-old Wilder stands 6 ft 7 in (2 m) tall and, on the evening, weighed 231 lb (104.8 kg), almost 19 lb heavier than during their first match.
31-year-old Fury is a giant of a man, at 6 ft 9 in (2,06 m) tall. On their first match, he weighed 256 1?2 lb (116.3 kg), picking up almost 17 lb for the second match, weighing in at 273 lb (123.8 kg), 42 lb heavier than Wilder.
The base purse was $5 million for each fighter but both walked away with more than $25 million in guaranteed earnings plus percentages of PPV profits.
Wilder vs Fury II
Fury was on a mission from the opening bell, leaving Wilder somewhat bewildered.
According to the Compubox numbers Wilder landed 34 of 141 his total punches (24%) – including 18 out of 55 power punches (33%) – while the nimble Fury landed 82 of his 267 total punches (31%), including 58 out of 160 power punches (36%).
By the third round Wilder had been floored and blood was streaming from his left ear. He went down again in the fifth and after being hammered in the seventh round, Wilder’s corner threw in the towel.
On the record
For the record, the base purse for the first match was $4 million for Wilder and $3 million for Fury, with Wilder walking away with $14 million in guaranteed earnings. Fury earned approximately $8 million, all of which he donated to charities to build homes for homeless alcohol and drug addicts in the UK.
“Black, white, pink or green”
In a well-written article in Taki’s Magazine, author and journalist Jim Goad explains that during pre-fight conferences Wilder unfortunately brought the issue of race into discussion but Fury refused to be drawn in, saying –
“We’re all human beings. It doesn’t matter if you’re black, white, pink or green. We share the same blood. We are humans. This fight isn’t a racial war between blacks and whites. This is a fight between the two most high-performance heavyweights on the planet going toe to toe. There’s nothing racial about this fight.”
Wilder vs Fury III?
Will there be another rematch? Probably not. The unified titles, held by the 30-year-old British boxer Anthony Joshua, might be a more attractive goal.
On the other, in a Good Morning Britain interview Fury’s father felt that his son had achieved all that he had dreamt of and expressed his wish that Tyson would retire unbeaten.
