Last Saturday night Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder met inside the squared circle for the third time.
They first met in December 2018 when Wilder was the undefeated reigning WBC heavyweight champion and Fury was the undefeated lineal heavyweight world champion. The match up provided an intriguing and contrasting clash of styles in a bout that was ultimately declared a draw. Many observers believed that Fury deserved the decision, while others argue Wilder earned the nod after twice dropping Fury.
The two boxers had a couple of separate bouts in 2019, before the long awaited rematch took place in February 2020. Both champions still brought undefeated records into the match, with the only blemish on either man’s record being their draw from 15 months earlier. This time Fury effectively changed strategies and he put on a dominant performance, dropping Wilder twice before Wilder’s corner stopped the fight in round 7.
The global emergence of COVID-19 put the boxing world on hold, and after a delay the rematch finally happened last Saturday. It wound up being an all out war of attrition between two brave and determined warriors. Both men rose from the canvas not once, but twice in this epic battle. Fury’s unwavering determination ultimately prevailed, and he stopped Wilder in round 11.. Wilder literally fought with every fiber of his being until he no longer could. And Tyson Fury overcame tremendous adversity to retain his heavyweight world championship. This was easily one of the greatest and most dramatic heavyweight championship contests in the last 35 years. Indeed it was an Instant Classic during the long rich history of heavyweight championship boxing.
This edition of Rummy’s Corner will provide a quick recap of the third fight between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder while making the case that this was an instant classic, with some comparisons to some other famous and memorable heavyweight battles from over the years.