WBC champion Tyson Fury retained his belt and undefeated record after producing a dominant and textbook performance against Dillian Whyte, culminating with a brutal one punch knockout towards the end of the sixth round.
A scrappy contest saw Whyte attempt to surprise Fury from the start by adopting an unorthodox southpaw stance, that Fury had himself hinted he may use against Whyte prior to the fight. Both fighters used the initial two rounds as a scouting mission with Whyte searching for a way to get close to Fury, who used his 85 inch long reach to patiently keep a safe distance between the pair.
By round three Fury had found his range and began to press forward, leading Whyte to revert back to his usual orthodox stance with little reward as a booming right hand from Fury connected with Whyte to the delight of the predominantly Fury fan-based crowd.
During round four a clash of heads and a brief exchange of unpleasantries between the fighters took place as Whyte, who had previously stated he would attempt to win at all costs, began to explore alternative tactics to wound Fury. Though, the clash left Whyte worse off with a gash around his right eye.
Whyte began to fatigue during the fifth round and his sluggish footwork and inaccurate swinging left ample opportunities for Fury to land jabs to the challengers increasingly marked face. Having sussed out Whyte’s strategy and his lack of venom, Fury set up his finishing shot by peppering with his left jab before Whyte let his guard down and Fury connected with a peach of an uppercut to his opponent’s chin sending him to the canvas. Whyte stood up before the count of ten, however, his obvious disorientation and visible imbalance led referee Mark Lyson to call an end to the contest.
A jubilant Fury stood with his arm aloft as the 94,000 strong crowd engulfed in St George’s flags celebrated and applauded his victory.
Fury arrived ringside to Biggie Smalls ‘It was all a dream’ and Kings of Leon’s ‘Sex is on fire’, arguably Fury has long made his dream a reality and although there were few fireworks in this bout he sure knows how to ignite a crowd and is now undoubtedly the best heavyweight fighter of his generation.
The Gypsy King hinted at retirement following the bout, speaking to the media he said; “I’ve won every belt there is to win. If this was a computer game it would definitely be completed. I’m going to retire like Rocky Marciano did as unbeaten heavyweight champion.”
