Tyson Fury’s third showdown with Deontay Wilder has been labeled an all-time classic by the boxing world. But what makes an ‘all-time classic’ and did this really qualify as one? We’ve had time for the dust to settle so it’s only right we look back on the fight to determine if it will indeed go down in history as one of the greatest to ever take place.
First off, classics need to be tense. As a way of comparison, only two weeks before Fury fought Wilder, the world witnessed Anthony Joshua lose to Oleksandr Usyk in a fight that never really burst into life. One can only hope that the rematch is better but the latest boxing betting odds suggest a similar spectacle with Usyk priced at just 4/9 to win. In other words, it is likely to again be slow, cagey, and even lethargic, three traits that don’t ever make for a classic.
In the bout between Fury and Wilder, however, it was explosive all the way up until the Englishman spectacularly knocked the American out in the eleventh round. Indeed, despite Fury seemingly beating up Wilder at will, there were still moments when the Alabama heavyweight sprung into life and landed devastating blows to Fury’s body and head, leaving his family at ringside with their hearts in their mouths as he dropped to the canvas to the roar of the partisan Las Vegas crowd.
Mike Tyson believes “everybody won” as Fury and Wilder reached “all time great status.” pic.twitter.com/MHjb3X452F
— ESPN Ringside (@ESPNRingside) October 12, 2021
When this happened and in a desperate attempt to make sense of the drama unfolding, the term puncher’s chance perhaps popped into your mind and indeed that is where the saying originates from. In other words, Wilder’s chances of success were small, but not impossible as was now evident with the referee beginning the count in Fury’s face. But then this just adds to the feeling of unbearable suspense as you begin to think that Wilder could win at any stage, which leaves you questioning how unfair that would be on the hardworking Fury who is, technically, a much better boxer.
After all, boxing is a noble art that Fury has seemingly perfected with his eel-like movements and thunderous counter punches. The 33-year-old has also used boxing to get his life back on track after teetering on the edge for a few years after winning the heavyweight championship of the world in 2015. So with this triumphant narrative in mind, your heart races even more when you consider that Widler has the power in his fists to end Fury’s inspirational story. Sport mirrors life in the sense that it isn’t always fair and the sight of Fury on the floor of the ring was enough to leave you with a lump in your throat, but boxing classics deliver more than one twist in the tale, and remarkably, Fury would get up off the canvas and begin to fight back. That never-say-die attitude saw him through to the end of the fight and after setting Wilder up with some persistent left jabs, he sent a booming right hand down the pipe to cap off one of the greatest comebacks in sporting history as Wilder plummeted to the canvas with his eyes shut.
🔥The knockout from this angle…#FuryWilder3 | @Tyson_Fury pic.twitter.com/NQ1ePHm1CN
— The Sportsman (@TheSportsman) October 10, 2021
Yes, this was a classic, an absolute classic.
