The World Boxing Council has named the trilogy fight between British boxer Tyson Fury and America’s Deontay Wilder as the fight of the year.
‘The Gypsy King’ consolidated his place at the summit of boxing on October 11 when he knocked out Wilder in the 11th round to defend the World Boxing Council’s version of the heavyweight title in a heart-pounding contest of extreme physical and psychological intensity that ennobled both men.
They moved us, they surprised us and gave us a show that went down in history. Fury vs. Wilder III is the fight of the year 🔥@Tyson_Fury @BronzeBomber pic.twitter.com/C7LBaAqn5Q
— World Boxing Council (@WBCBoxing) December 14, 2021
Fury, whose career appeared finished when he left the sport for more than two years amid public battles with addiction and mental illness, dropped the ‘Bronz Bomber’ in the third round, then came off the floor twice in the fourth himself before roaring back from near-defeat with knockdowns in the 10th and the 11th, when referee Russell Mora intervened with the determined Wilder still trying to make it to his feet to continue.
“It was a great fight, worthy of the best trilogies,” Fury said in the immediate aftermath. “I will not make any excuses, Wilder is a top fighter, he gave me a run for my money. I always say I am the best fighter in the world and he is the second best. Don’t ever doubt me. When the chips are down I can always deliver.”
Simply put, it was an all-time classic, one that established Fury’s supremacy over his American rival once and for all after their first meeting ended in a disputed split draw and their second in a knockout win for the Briton.
Their third encounter in 34 months, each of them rife with heightened drama with no fewer than nine knockdowns in all, punctuated only the fifth trilogy between heavyweight champions in boxing history after Patterson-Johansson, Ali-Frazier, Ali-Norton and Bowe-Holyfield.
