Deontay Wilder swung big, and delivered two knockdowns to a technically superior Tyson Fury, which caused the judges to call it a draw after twelve action-packed rounds in Los Angeles.
LOS ANGELES, USA – DECEMBER 01: Deontay Wilder (L) lands a left hook and knocks down Tyson Fury (R) in the 12th round of WBC Heavyweight Championship at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California on December 01,2018. (Photo by Philip Pacheco/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) Getty
As a master-class in technical boxing, Tyson Fury’s twelve long rounds of jabbing, feinting, and surgically wearying a soldierly, explosive Deontay Wilder in Los Angeles on Saturday night was hotly contested, but nevertheless called a draw. The two boxers put their hearts into the match, Wilder by calling up his infamous artillery when it counted, and Fury by conducting his classic foot-and-head work while deftly placing his flurries of jabs, despite Wilder’s two spectacular knockdowns. They meant what they did, these two athletes, and it showed.
Fury’s artful, almost painterly demonstration of technique, applied throughout the match no matter his situation within it, should put to rest any questions about his abilities and his fitness as a remade, whole boxer. Kudos to little-known trainer Ben Davison, who presided over Fury’s two-year weight-loss/fitness odyssey.
