Deontay Wilder was a leg wobble away from beating Tyson Fury in 2018, by the admission of the man he planted to the canvas.
“The Bronze Bomber” hit one of the most-talked-about two-punch combinations in recent heavyweight history as the pair clashed for the first time.
Fury was down and seemingly out. In his own words, he explained how his thought process ran as his head bounced off the floor.
Deontay Wilder knocks Tyson Fury ‘out cold’
“I thought I was out of there. But I didn’t know what happened to me,” Fury told Rio Ferdinand for TNT Sports. “I was out cold.
“I opened my eyes and saw the referee going ‘four, five,’ and I thought, ‘f***, I’ve been knocked down here! Get up!’
“But I didn’t want to rush up because I didn’t know where my legs would be. I’d just been chinned properly. If you jump up and you end up falling over again, it gets stopped. So I took every bit of time.
“The referee told us in the changing room, ‘I believe in counting the champion out. If one of you goes down, I’ll count to ten; if you’re not up, you’re out.”
Astonishingly, Fury made it up and won the rematch; the rest is history. Wilder managed to drop him again two more times in the trilogy. However, Fury proved too strong.
“The Gypsy King” is now a three-year-reigning WBC champion with three title defenses. He goes for the ultimate undisputed crown on February 17.
Fury vs Usyk
Fury battles Oleksandr Usyk, the most talented combined cruiserweight and heavyweight champion since the legend Evander Holyfield.
Many believe Usyk can win, and Fury still has much to prove due to his knockdowns against Wilder and, more recently, Francis Ngannou.
Saudi Arabia will host the clash, with His Excellency Turki Alalshikh champing at the bit to hear the first bell in Riyadh.
“Since our first Riyadh Season in 2019, the Season has developed a reputation for hosting the biggest events. They do not come much bigger than the undisputed heavyweight title fight,” said the Chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority.
“This is history in the making, a fight the world has waited for. Now, it is a reality. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is excited to be hosting this era-defining fight.
“This will be a global spectacle. We will do everything to ensure that everyone has an experience that matches an event of this magnitude.”
Without the involvement of Saudi Arabia, it’s doubtful that fights like Fury vs Ngannou and Usyk would ever have occurred.
