TIED UP IN NOTS
Fury-Wilder ends in controversial draw
LOS ANGELES — Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder will probably meet in a rematch before either of them faces Anthony Joshua in a ring. Fury-Wilder II might be the preferred choice after the unsatisfying ending to their fight Saturday night at the Staples Center.
Wilder scored two knockdowns and thought he won. Fury, meanwhile, thought he piled up enough points to claim the decision. But after 12 rugged rounds, the judges ruled it a split draw. Alejandro Rochin of Mexico had it 115-111 for Wilder, while Robert Tapper of Canada saw it 114-110 for Fury. Phil Edwards scored it a 113113 draw, as did The Post.
“I think with the two knockdowns I definitely won the fight,” Wilder said. “We poured our hearts out tonight. We’re both warriors. But with those two drops, I think I won the fight.” Fury saw it differently. “We’re on away soil,” he said. “I got knocked down twice, but I still believe I won that fight.”
Wilder (40-0-1, 39 KOs) retains the WBC belt, while Fury (27-0-1, 19 KOs) can still call himself the lineal heavyweight champion. It was a buzzkill ending to what had been an entertaining fight in which Fury used constant movement and sharp punching to win rounds, while Wilder waited patiently to land the big punch.
Wilder, making his eighth title defense, managed to drop Fury with a left hook in the ninth round and looked like he had Fury finished in the 12th with a thunderous left-right combination that dropped the challenger flat on his back. But Fury just beat the count and survived the round as a crowd of 17,698 roared its approval.
The winner was projected to face Joshua, the WBA, IBF and WBO title-holder, for the undisputed championship. But Wilder and Fury may stage a rematch first.
“I would love for it to be my next fight,” Wilder said of the rematch. “Why not? Let’s give the fans what they want to see. It was a great fight, so let’s do it again. It doesn’t matter to me where we do it.”
Fury was trying to complete a rapid comeback from drug and alcohol addiction that derailed his career after winning a unanimous deci- sion in 2015 to dethrone Wladimir Klitschko for the WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight titles. Mental health issues added to Fury’s demise to the point he contemplated suicide. He vacated his titles and spent 2 ½ years out of the ring before getting sober. After two tune-up fights, he agreed to challenge Wilder in America for the only belt Fury didn’t win off Klitschko, the WBC belt.
“I want to win the WBC belt and finish my collection,” Fury had said before the bout.
It figured to be a match-up of Wilder’s power versus Fury’s ability to use his foot movement to avoid and frustrate Wilder.
“As long as I’m focused for the full duration of the fight, I don’t see him landing any punches at all,” Fury said.
The opening rounds were to Fury’s liking. Wilder struggled to land a punch as Fury’s constant movement kept the champion off balance. Wilder looked like he wanted to attack Fury’s body early then went head hunting in the middle rounds without much success. Fury would try to steal rounds with late flurries and then raising his hands in triumph as the bell sounded.
It wasn’t until the ninth round that Wilder landed a heavy blow. A hard overhand right to the side of Fury’s head dropped the Englishman for the first time in the fight. He got up and withstood Wilder’s assault to try to end the fight. By the end of the round, they were going toe-to-toe as Fury regained his wits.
As the fight entered the final round, neither fighter could be certain he was winning. Fury opened with a hard right, but Wilder flushed him with a devastating right-left combination that put Fury down. He got up just before referee Jack Reiss counted to 10.
It was a matter of whether Fury could hang on to the final bell. Halfway through the round, Fury began to fight back, swinging and holding until the controversial end.