The Englishman commanded most of this heavyweight title fight, but Wilder’s two knockdowns earned him the draw. A rematch seems in order.
LOS ANGELES >> Tyson Fury won a split draw against Deontay Wilder at Staples Center Saturday night.
He came in 27-0 and walked out 27-0-1. Wilder came in 40-0 and walked out 40-0-1, and took his WBC heavyweight belt with him.
But Fury called the tune from the beginning, or from several months ago, when he began peppering Wilder with his nonstop patter. Then he stepped into the same alley with the Bronze Bomber and didn’t bring a molecule of fear.
He taunted, he clowned, he ducked and he dodged. He was knocked down in the ninth and 12th rounds, the last one a fearsome left from Wilder when Fury was on the way down. Wilder grinned and did a throat-slitting gesture. Fury came back up, windpipe and larynx intact, and fought back to the end.
“I don’t know how I got up,” Fury admitted. “I must have had a holy hand on me tonight.”
The pre-fight bitterness evaporated in several tight hugs between Wilder and Fury, and it would be unthinkable and borderline sacrilegious not to have a rematch. It was a rousing win for the heavyweight division, which signaled its comeback with Anthony Joshua’s win over Wladimir Klitschko last year. A crowd of 17,698 barged into Staples and made it throb like Lexington and Concord.
Wilder showed the power of his own unique launch-angle boxing. He can miss and miss and miss and then go deep, and 12 rounds is a long time to avoid his hammer.
But he also showed he can be beaten, in much the same way he seemed vulnerable against Luis Ortiz in March, when he barely got through the seventh round and then gaveled Ortiz to the floor in the 10th. At some point his raw, and raw-boned, speed and muscle need to be accompanied by some baseline boxing skills. If not, he’ll struggle with Fury again.
“I was knocked down twice and I still think I won the fight,” Fury said. “The man is a fearsome puncher and I was able to avoid that. And I showed good heart to get back up.
“I’m not happy with the draw but I won’t cry over spilt milk. We’re two massive behemoths of men.
