As we head into Tyson Fury's money-spinning showdown with former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, there could scarcely be a better time to look back at The Gypsy King's finest conquest in a prize ring. Here is the greatest win of Tyson Fury's career, as explained by Fury himself.
Fight: Deontay Wilder 3
Date/ Location: October 9, 2021/ T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas
Distance: 12 rounds
World Titles: WBC and Ring Magazine heavyweight (held by Fury)
Records: Fury (30-0-1, 21 KOs), Wilder (42-1-1, 41 KOs)
Result: Fury KO 11
The set-up: Fury faced off against Wilder for the first time, on December 1, 2018, in Los Angeles. The Englishman was two fights into his comeback, and many felt it was too soon to challenge the unbeaten WBC heavyweight champion. They were wrong. Fury turned in an inspired performance, out-boxing Wilder, and rising from what appeared to be a terminal knockdown in the 12th round to come out on the wrong end of a contentious draw.
Twenty months later, Fury and Wilder met in a Las Vegas rematch with the WBC and Ring Magazine titles at stake. This was a completely different fight altogether. Fury went on the front foot, backed his opponent up throughout, and scored two clean knockdowns before sensationally taking Wilder out in seven rounds.
Book closed, right? Wrong!
The stars aligned for both men to face off in a trilogy bout. When the fight was initially signed, there were plenty of detractors because the boxing world at large wanted to see an all-British undisputed championship fight between Fury and then-unified champ Anthony Joshua.
WATCH: Sign up for Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou live, exclusively on ESPN+
However, after Fury and Wilder had thrown down in fight three, nobody was complaining.
“Deontay Wilder 3, for me, was the biggest and best fight I have ever done,” Fury told The Sporting News. “There was so much adversity to get through and at any time it could have been over. That was my best performance for guts, determination, and fighting ability.”
Fury-Wilder 3 would later be named The Ring Magazine Fight of The Year. But despite The Gypsy King’s return to glory, the father of six was eager to point out that his biggest victory was actually won outside of the ring.
“My biggest victory, 100 percent, was my battle with mental health,” said Fury. “That’s been the biggest fight, the biggest obstacle, my toughest opponent.
“I know how to train for a heavyweight boxer; you know what the opponent is going to do. But for something you can’t see; something that’s mentally and emotionally destroying you, to come back from that is my greatest victory. I lost 10 stone and got back to where I was — if not better — and that’s my greatest achievement.”
Fury has gone on to become a mental health advocate and has provided inspiration to thousands of people who can identify with his struggle.
The reigning WBC heavyweight king, who squares off against old foe Derek Chisora on Saturday, was kind enough to speak with The Sporting News about his sweetest victory:
MORE: Breaking down the Fury vs. Ngannou undercard
Why did Tyson Fury-Deontay Wilder 3 happen?
“After the second fight with Wilder, Covid obviously happened and we were out for 22 months. In that 22 months, there was talk of me fighting Joshua for the undisputed heavyweight championship in Saudi Arabia. The deal was agreed, but all of a sudden, from nowhere, Wilder comes out with a massive court case, arbitration under U.S. law [to force a contractually agreed upon rematch]. I had to attend and I lost.
“Wilder won his right to a third fight even though the contract had expired. He won because Covid was a natural disaster; it wasn’t something that he did. All of a sudden, we went from an undisputed fight with Joshua to doing a trilogy fight with Wilder. I was pretty pissed off, but you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do.”
MORE: Should Tyson Fury be stripped of WBC heavyweight title?
What was your preparation for Deontay Wilder 3?
“I went into training camp and we all come down with Covid (for the original date of July 24, 2021). We came back home from the U.S. and (wife) Paris had a baby, then the baby was very ill, and that took two or three weeks out of my training camp.
“I only ended up with four weeks of training for the fight. It was a very traumatic camp. One minute I had a baby on death’s door, then a couple of weeks later, I’m training for a heavyweight title defence. It was pure mental determination rather than having a great camp.
“I sparred Efe Ajagba; he’s the Nigerian Olympic bronze medalist, 6-foot-7, 240 pounds. I had Jared Anderson, an American guy. Over here (in the U.K.) I had George Fox, Jordan Thompson, and David Adelaide. But you can’t really prepare for Deontay Wilder, just like you can’t really prepare for Tyson Fury. You get the rounds of sparring in, and you do your camp, but it’s mental determination. Most of these fights aren’t won in camp, they’re won on the night with mental attitude.”
What was your strategy for Deontay Wilder in the third fight?
“We didn’t have a long camp, so I was never thinking about going the distance. It was always about getting the knockout. I just believed that I was going to knock him out. And no matter what I was being told in the corner, it was going in one ear and out the other. (Trainer) Sugar (Hill Steward) was telling me to box and use my jab, but I was thinking, ‘I can’t go the distance, I don’t have a long night in me. I’ve got to get him out of here.
MORE: Fury vs. Ngannou has shades of 1956 Olympian facing heavyweight champ
Did the Deontay Wilder fight go as you expected?
“It’s always the same with Wilder: he’s fit, he’s tough, he’s got good mental ability, and he’s not gonna quit. The thing with Wilder is, it’s not like you can knock him down a couple of times and he’ll just shake his head and quit. He always wants to stay in there until the end.”
"I had to man up, step up, and smash him to pieces. I knew it was going to be tough, and that I might need to get off the floor, but I was going to overcome this opponent. And that’s exactly how it went, and I don’t think anyone expected it to be as great a fight as it was.
What surprised you about Deontay Wilder?
“In the fourth round (during which Fury was knocked down twice), I didn’t know what had happened. I mean, obviously, I’d walked on to a massive punch that went right through me.
“When Wilder hit me [in Round 12 of the] first fight, it was 'switch off.' I was switched off, then I woke up. The [two] knockdowns in the third fight, I just felt dizzy and fell over. I don’t know if it was the extra weight (277 pounds) that helped me, but I didn’t switch off – it was a strange feeling. I said to myself, ‘OK, you’ve been hit – time to get up!’ I never think I’m beat when I’m on the floor. When Wilder got me, I just said, ‘Right, you’re in a bit of shit now!”
“When I fight Wilder, I always look at it like, ‘I’m going to do just as much damage to you as you are to me.’ And I know I can take it because I’m tough and I have a massive build: 270 pounds plus, I’m 6-foot-9, and I’m as hard as nails. I know I can take the punishment and keep coming forward.”
Can you describe the Deontay Wilder knockout in detail?
“I was hitting him with cannons, up and down his body, and I mean hard shots. He took them, fair play to him, but fights like that take a lot out of you.
“I could feel him weakening in Round 10 and had full control of him with my arms in Round 11. I could do whatever I wanted: positioning him and hitting him. I knew it was just a matter of time because he was fatigued and he’d taken a lot of punishment. I started unleashing massive hooks and he couldn’t defend himself. Nobody can take they shots: full-blown, massive right hands from the shoulder.
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“It was a left hook-right hook to finish it. I remember looking at him and he fell asleep before he hit the floor. I didn’t even look at him when he was down, I just ran across to the other side of the ring because I knew it was over. The other times, I thought he might get up. This time, I thought, that’s it – he ain’t getting up from that.
“Wilder is an absolutely massive puncher and anyone that can get up off the floor and fight on is made of something a little bit different. I’m as tough as a brick and as game as a badger. When it comes to dog fighting, I’ve never come across anyone who can match me because, sooner or later, I’m gonna get on top of them and knock them out.”
Explain your feelings after the victory.
“I thought to myself, ‘This is it, this is the end.’ Before Wilder 3, I was in the house with Paris, and I said to her, ‘This is it now, babe, I won’t be putting you through this anymore.” She said, ‘Thank God for that!’
“After the fight, I was in the shower, I had lumps all over me, and I couldn’t remember anything. I couldn’t remember being put down, and I couldn’t remember what I’d been doing. I was messed up, and I said, ‘This is it, I can’t do it anymore. It’s a matter of time before I get brain damage or something.’
“But after a week or two, I was like, ‘I’ve got to fight again. I’ve got to come back to England, I’ve got to fight at home again.’ I’ve been away for four years and I’ve got to come back. I had the fight at Wembley (against Dillian Whyte) and said, ‘win, lose or draw, this is it!’
“But it seems to me that there’s always going to be one more. How long does my luck last? How long do I keep going? I’m not sure, but I’m just riding it out day to day. I’m enjoying my life, I’m enjoying the training camps and my career. They say, you only truly appreciate what you’ve got when you’re at the end of it – especially athletes. Footballers, boxers, a lot of them only start looking after themselves in the final few years.”
