The WBC Heavyweight rematch of Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury came to a sudden stop in the 7th round as Wilder’s corner threw in the towel after a relentless attack by the “Gyspsy King”, Fury’s boxing persona.
The boxing match, donned one of the biggest fights since Mike Tyson’s defeat to Lennox Lewis, took place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night, Feb. 22.
Wilder, also known as the “Bronze Bomber”, survived six rounds taking punch after punch and even being knocked down a couple of times. The once undefeated champion appeared to be fatigue and off his equilibrium as he bounced around the ring in a dizzy spell.
Wilder suffered through a bleeding ear and busted lip while an energized Fury continued to land head shots.
In the 7th round, Wilder was coerced into a corner in which a 273-pound Fury went into a flurry of punches. It was over for Wilder, according to his team.
But, a disappointed Wilder wasn’t ready, yelling “Why did you do that” after his co-trainer Mark Breland threw in the towel.
“The best man won tonight, but my corner threw in the towel and I was ready to go out on my shield,” Wilder said. “I had a lot of things going on heading into this fight. It is what it is, but I make no excuses tonight. I just wish my corner would have let me go out on my shield.”
Wilder’s trainer Jay Deas sided with Wilder that the towel shouldn’t have been thrown in the ring.
“Mark threw the towel. I didn’t think he should have,” Deas said. “Deontay is the kind of the guy that goes out on his shield. He will tell you straight up, don’t throw the towel in.”
After being checked by medics, Wilder would have to get stitches in the locker room and miss the news conference after the fight.
Fury celebrated his victory singing “American Pie” by Don McLean as the crowd joined in.
“A big shoutout to Deontay Wilder,” Fury said. “He came here tonight and he manned up, and he really did show the heart of a champion.”
Wilder only landed 34 punches out of 141 attempts, while Fury landed a whopping 82 punches out of 267 attempts.
Both men were guaranteed $25 million along with a share of profits from the Pay-Per-View event.
