Tyson Fury was crowned heavyweight champion of the world this evening (November 28) at the ESPRIT arena in Dusseldorf following a masterful twelve-round unanimous decision win over division ruler Wladimir Klitschko.
Fury, 27, seemed to dominate much of the action with lateral movement, impressive ring generalship and the occasional flurry of punches, leaving Klitschko, unbeaten in eleven years, on the receiving end of a 115-112, 115-112 and 116-111 unanimous decision at the bout’s conclusion.
A night when it all seemed to come together, Fury appeared relaxed, composed and calm during his ring-walk, calmer still during the introductions and then, despite an attempted sprint across the ring on the first bell, settled into a kind of fluid rhythm and style – one chock-full of feints and twitches – which noticeably unsettled the more rigid and robotic Klitschko.
The action may have been sparse at times, but Fury, 25-0 (18 KOs), produced most of it. He beat Klitschko to the jab from range and was the one who time and time again pulled the trigger and let both hands go with abandonment. Rarely did Klitschko, 39, ever initiate the action; even rarer was the sight of his right hand.
Instead, to the delight of the thousands of British fans in attendance, Fury started by far the better of the two – sweeping most of the early rounds on the judges’ scorecards – and then began to enjoy himself. He even dared to put his hands behind his back on more than one occasion, so comfortable was he with the man in front of him. There appeared no fear of what might come back. No fear of Klitschko’s reputation.
In the end, despite an attempted late rally from the Ukrainian – signified by him finally trying to close the distance and let his right hand go – Fury was much too smart and seasoned to let his lead slip. Better still, rather than simply buy time and cruise to the finish line, he matched the legendary champion punch for punch and tried to finish the job in a dramatic twelfth and final round.
Alas, the final bell rang and the ESPRIT arena erupted. They sensed what was to come. And though the fear of any travelling fighter is that they might get ripped off by the home officials, there was no such trepidation on the face of Fury or his team, for the performance was surely too dominant and decisive for any such shenanigans to take place.
After all, Fury hadn’t just beaten Klitschko, 64-4 (53 KOs), he’d ushered in a new dawn for the heavyweight division. Out with the old, in with the new. Just as he’d always said it would be. And the new…
