LOS ANGELES — The naysayers said the heavyweight division was dead in the United States. Boy, were they wrong.
The biggest heavyweight fight on American soil since Lennox Lewis faced Mike Tyson in 2002 delivered a great deal of excitement and drama as Tyson Fury survived two knockdowns, including one in the final round, and battled WBC champion Deontay Wilder to a split draw in front of 17,698 fans at the Staples Center.
Although the end may not have been satisfying, the fight certainly was. Fury used his deft boxing ability, while Wilder sought to slug his way to victory. The contrast in styles led to fireworks and several nail-biting moments. For the most part, Fury controlled the war of towering giants with his movement, defensive ability and a flicking jab that had him banking early rounds. However, Wilder scored knockdowns in the ninth and 12th rounds that would have polished off just about any other heavyweight. Somehow, the Brit managed to get to his feet, regain his senses and get back to outboxing "The Bronze Bomber."
Fury managing to rise in the 12th round after being left for dead with a savage combination from Wilder has epitomized his comeback trail. This time last year, Fury was closing in on 400 pounds and self-destructing with drugs, alchohol and mental issues. But the lineal champion willed himself back into fighting shape to put himself in position to face Wilder and be a champion. In the 12th round, Wilder landed a savage combination that put Fury flat on his back. It looked as if the count would reach 10, but Fury popped up to his feet. Not only that, he actually fought his way back into the round and saw the final bell.
If nothing else, the profiles for both fighters has grown from an epic encounter.
Wilder could have packed it in after Fury thoroughly outclassed him in the early rounds. The heavy-hitting fighter from Alabama struggled to find his target, as Fury evaded the big right hand and kept Wilder completely off balance. Without much of a plan B, Wilder was forced to throw caution to the wind in hopes of landing the big shot. Fortunately, there were rounds where Fury didn't do much offensively, which left the judges flipping a coin over the winner of the round. As the rounds pressed on, Fury continued to pop the jab and follow with an occasional right hand. Wilder's right eye began to swell shut, but the Tuscaloosa native refused to call it a night.
In the ninth round, Wilder finally found his target as a right hand bounced off of Fury's head and sent the Brit to the canvas. It looked as if the end could be near, but Fury regained his wits and boxed his way out of the round. With Fury forcing Wilder into his fight for the 10th and 11th rounds, Wilder desperately needed something big.
He almost got it.
The drama kept the fans engaged and the final scorecard begs for a rematch.
“I would love for it to be my next fight (on the rematch)," Wilder (40-0-1) said afterward. "Why not? Let’s give the fans what they want to see. It was a great fight and let’s do it again. It doesn’t matter to me where we do it. "
Fury agreed that the best course of action is to dance again to determine a winner.
“One hundred percent we’ll do the rematch," Fury (27-0-1) said. "We are two great champions. Me and this man are the two best heavyweights on the planet.”
(All times Eastern.)
Wilder vs. Fury results
Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury battle to a split draw.
Scores are 115-111 Wilder, 114-112 Fury and 113-113. We have a split draw.
Round 12 : Wilder needs a hail mary and lands one! Fury goes down like a sack of bricks. Somehow, he gets to his feet. Unbelievable! Wilder looking to finish the job and is launching everything at Fury. But Fury lands a combination that stuns Wilder. Unreal! Fury survives until the final bell. 10-8 Wilder (113-113)
Round 11 : Wilder is unable to do anything. Fury, on the other hand, is boxing brilliantly. Who knew he could keep this up for this long and survive a knockdown? 10-9 Fury (105-103 Fury)
Round 10 : Fury has a monster bounce back round. The pep is back in his step and he's cracking Wilder with jabs and right hands. Wilder tries to launch a desperation flurry, but this was all Fury. 10-9 Fury (95-94 Fury)
Round 9 : Out of nowhere, Wilder lands a right hand that sends Fury down! Fury barely makes it up, but lands a huge right hand that stuns Wilder. It's a brawl, but Wilder seems tired while Fury gets his wits. 10-8 Wilder (85-85)
Round 8: Fury is taking over the fight. His jab remains crisp and finding its target. Wilder has no plan B. He's done an awful job setting up the right hand and is playing right into Fury's hands. A triple jab and right hand briefly stuns Wilder toward the end of the round. 10-9 Fury (77-75 Fury)
Round 7 : Wilder charges but Fury, once again, avoids any damage. But Fury's jab and a follow up right hand land clean. Wilder's eye is swelling and he may start getting desperate. 10-9 Fury (67-66 Fury)
Round 6 : Fury has Wilder fighting his fight. The output is way down, but a combination by Fury is the best moment of the round. These rounds are very close with just a hair of action from either side. 10-9 Fury (57-57)
Round 5 : A much slower round as neither is able to land anything big. Fury isn't throwing enough and that may have given the round to Wilder. 10-9 Wilder (48-47 Wilder)
Round 4 : Fury has done an excellent job of staying away from the big right hand. However, his workrate is dropping. Wilder using the jab and lands a nice left uppercut is enough to take the round. 10-9 Wilder (38-38)
Round 3 : A round where not much happens, but Wilder's aggression with the jab and body shots likely took it. Fury is playing head games, which could be a problem late. 10-9 Wilder (29-28 Fury)
Round 2 : Wilder is having a hell of a time figuring out the Fury puzzle. Fury landing the jab, a few hard body shots and a right hook around Wilder's gloves. Wilder is working the jab, but can't find the target. 10-9 Fury (20-18 Fury).
Round 1 : Fury is dancing, while Wilder is looking for the big bomb. Wilder lands a hard left, but Fury is unaffected. It's a Wilder round until Fury lands a BOMB that staggers Wilder toward the end of the round. 10-9 Fury.
11:46 p.m. : Deontay Wilder with an epic entrance. Rapper Jay Rock performs "Win" with fireworks, a brass section in the crowd and Wilder is wearing a crown with his mask. All of the theatrics.
11:38 p.m. : Fury heads to the ring to a MASSIVE ovation. The Brits have traveled for this fight and are making their presence felt. The energy here is crazy.
11:30 p.m. : The celebrities are rolling in and we're minutes away from the main event. The arena is buzzing. The Brits are chanting. It's time.
Jarrett Hurd wrecks Jason Welborn with a body shot for 4th round KO
11:07 p.m. : Welborn gets a rise out of the crowd as he blitzes Hurd. But while people think Hurd is in trouble, this was all by design as the champion waits for Welborn to exhaust himself and opens up a whole can of whoop ass. A salvo of power shots, punctuated by a vicious right hook to the body that puts Welborn down and out for the 10 count. Afterward, Jermell Charlo steps into the ring to challenge Hurd. The two exchange words before being separated. A clash between Charlo and Hurd in 2019 would easily be one of the most anticipated showdowns of the year.
11:00 p.m.: Hurd said earlier in the week that he wants to show the world he's more than just a pressure fighter against Welborn. After two rounds he's boxed, been defensive and moved. It shouldn't be too much longer before he cranks up the pressure to get Welborn out of here.
10:49 p.m. : California rapper The Game walks Hurd out while performing his song "Dreams." There's a lot of California love from Hurd, who is also wearing the colors of the Los Angeles Lakers.
10:39 p.m.: The co-main event is up next as Jarrett Hurd (22-0, 15 KOs) will defend his WBA, IBF and IBO junior middleweight titles against Jason Welborn (24-6, 7 KOs). This shouldn't be remotely competitive.
Luis Ortiz dominates Travis Kauffman en route to a 10th-round TKO
10:29 p.m .: For good measure, Ortiz drops Kauffman in the 10th round with yet another left hand. It's been one-way traffic the entire fight. If Kauffman has done anything, it's prove he can take a punch. Ortiz finally says enough and blitzes Kauffman with a brutal barrage of power shots. The referee allowed Kauffman to eat about four punches too many, but finally calls a halt to the bout at the 1:58 mark.
10:18 p.m .: Yet another blistering left hand drops Kauffman in eighth round. Another fighter would have packed it in, but Kauffman gets right back to his feet. He hasn't won a single round, but he's determined to last until the final bell.
10:13 p.m. : In the sixth round, a hard left hand by Ortiz put Kauffman down face first. "King Kong" thought it was over and began to celebrate. However, Kauffman bounced back to his feet with a smile on his face. Somehow, he survived the round.
10:05 p.m .: After five rounds, Kauffman is doing little more than mugging and posing in front of Ortiz. The one thing he's not doing? Fighting.
9:56 p.m. : After two rounds, Luis Ortiz is in control against Travis Kauffman. It seems like it's only a matter of time before "King Kong" puts an end to the fight. If that happens, we're sure to have a lot of downtime before the co-main event.
9:42 p.m.: We're killing time between fights. So far, Rosie Perez, Desus & Mero, Terence Crawford, Erislandy Lara, Badou Jack and Shawn Porter have all been spotted at Staples Center for the undercard. Word is that LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Magic Johnson will all be here. Denzel Washington is also on the celebrity guest list.
9:31 p.m. : Next up is Luis "King Kong" Ortiz (29-1, 25 KOs) taking on Travis Kauffman (32-2 23 KOs). Ortiz is looking to make a statement and put his name right back into the heavyweight title mix with a win. After giving Wilder all that he could handle earlier this year, Wilder is deserving to be in the mix.
Joe Joyce needs only one round to knock out Joe Hanks
9:22 p.m. : Well, that was fast. Joe Joyce obliterated Joe Hanks in the first round. Joyce caught Hanks with a chopping right hand that clearly hurt Hanks, but it looked as if he was playing possum. He wasn't. He was hurt badly. Joyce invited him back into the center of the ring and took Hanks out of his misery with a left hook.
9:14 p.m.: The Wilder-Fury PPV broadcast kicks off with 2016 Olympic silver medalist Joe Joyce (6-0, 6 KOs) squaring off against Joe Hanks (23-2, 15 KOs). Joyce could be a legit threat to the top tier of heavyweights. It's imperative that he loosens up as a professional. He still possesses some robotic amateur elements, but the power is real and so is the talent.
Oleksandr Gvozdyk knocks out Adonis Stevenson to capture the WBC light heavyweight championship
8:57 p.m.: Gvozdyk def. Stevenson by knockout in the 11th round to win the WBC light heavyweight title. Gvozdyk rallied in the 11th with a straight right hand followed by a left hand to send Stevenson to the ropes. Gvozdyk threw a right hand that wobbled Stevenson. Gvozdyk smelled blood. He wobbled Stevenson again with another right hand and then poured it on with a vicious combination to send Stevenson down and out to capture the WBC crown.
8:51 p.m.: Stevenson needed a rally in the 10th round. He appeared to get it when he sent Gvozdyk to the ropes with a left hand. Gvozdyk held him to gain his composure. Gvozdyk came back with a two-punch combination and moments later, a five-punch combo to end the round. Can Stevenson rally in the last two rounds?
8:45 p.m.: Gvozdyk is putting on a clinic. With the crowd chanting “Superman” to begin the eighth, Gvozdyk wasn’t bothered by it whatsoever. He pressed the action, stayed in Stevenson’s space and just kept throwing combinations, moving out of the way and then blasting a right hand down the middle.
8:42 p.m.: Gvozdyk learned from what he did at the end of sixth and applied it into the seventh, coming right out and landing another combination. He was throwing three-, four-punch combiations and then shifting to the side to not allow Stevenson to blast him with a straight left hand. When he did stand there, he’d make Stevenson miss. Stevenson walked back to his corner breathing heavily, so watch out for that as we head into the later rounds.
8:37 p.m.: Stevenson did a little more work in the sixth round. He tried to work the body and follow it up with a left upstairs. Gvozdyk put a halt to the little momentum at the end of the round, connecting on a explosive three-punch combination.
8:30 p.m: In the fourth round, Gvozdyk continues the momentum connecting on a series of four- and five-punch combinations and landing the right hand down the middle on more than one occasion. At this point, Stevenson has become a stationary target and throwing only one left hand at a time.
8:24 p.m.: Gvozdyk caught Stevenson with a right hand, but the ref called it a slip.
Showtime is starting off with Adonis Stevenson vs. Oleksandr Gvozdyk from Centre Videotron, Quebec City.
Sporting News will be providing live coverage and results inside the Staples Center when the main card begins at 9 p.m.
Wilder vs. Fury fight card
- Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury for Wilder's WBC heavyweight title
- Jarrett Hurd vs. Jason Welborn for Hurd's IBF/WBA Junior Middleweight title
- Luis Ortiz vs. Travis Kauffman; Heavyweights
- Joe Joyce vs. Joe Hanks; Heavyweights
- Alfredo Angulo vs. TBA; Super Middleweights
- Julian Williams vs. Javier Francisco Castro; Junior Middleweights
- Mark Barriga vs. Carlos Licona for vacant IBF Strawweight title
- Chris Arreola vs. Maurenzo Smith; Heavyweights
- Robert Guerrero vs. Adam Mate; Welterweights
- Marsellos Wilder vs. David Damore; Cruiserweights
- Isaac Lowe vs. Luis Rafael Baez; Featherweights
- Jesse Rodriguez vs. Alex Aragon; Junior Flyweights
- Anthony Yarde vs. TBA; Light Heavyweights
Wilder vs. Fury latest news
- Why hasn't Deontay Wilder become the biggest boxing attraction in the United States? Sporting News' combat sports editor Andreas Hale gives the biggest reason.
- Tyson Fury has a chance to regain the heavyweight title. Here are six of the greatest heavyweights to win back the gold.
- Fury has risen to the top of the mountain and been to the depths of despair. We chronicle the uneven journey to this point.
- Who wins: Deontay Wilder or Tyson Fury ? Our team Sporting News Boxing team give their picks.
- SN talks with the top names in the sport on who they feel walks out of LA the WBC heavyweight champion.
- Saturday night is the moment Wilder has been waiting for.
- Even though they are battling for heavyweight supremacy, Wilder and Fury are more alike than people think.
- SN takes a delve into why Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury is a must-see fight .
- The Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury clash plays a bigger role in the heavyweight division than most think.
