Despite suffering two knockdowns, Tyson Fury got off the canvas to take a highly controversial draw with Deontay Wilder. A monstrous right hand from Wilder knocked Fury off his feet in the 12th round, and Wilder landed a hard left hook as Fury crumpled to the canvas. But somehow, Fury beat the 10-count to endure the round as Wilder appeared to tire.
The three ringside judges scored the bout 115-111 for Wilder, 114-110 for Fury, and a 113-113 draw, resulting in the fight ending in a draw. But on the Inquisitr scorecard, Wilder won only one round, the fourth, other than the 12th, and ninth when the 33-year-old Wilder first put Fury, 30, on the canvas. Of course, Wilder won the two knockdown rounds by 10-8 scores.
Otherwise, as noted the round-by-round analysis below, Fury controlled every round largely with movement, defense, and a sharp left jab.
“I think with the two knockdowns, I definitely won the fight,” Wilder said in his post-fight interview, who admitted that he came out slow and “rushed my punches.”
“Every man in here thinks I won that fight,” Fury said. “I’m not going to take anything away from Wilder. He’s a great fighter and a great man.”
Fury was less charitable to WBO and IBF heavyweight champion — and fellow Englishman — Anthony Joshua, calling Joshua “chicken,” a sentiment with which Wilder said, “I 100 percent agree.”
ROUND ONE: Fury largely controlled the round with his jab, landing a big right hand that appeared to get Wilder’s attention with just seconds left in the round. Inquisitr scorecard: Fury 10, Wilder 9.
ROUND TWO: Wilder threw several combinations, but none landed effectively as Fury continued to move away and land his jab. Wilder landed a solid right as Fury leaned into the ropes just before the bell sounded. Inquisitr scorecard: Fury 20, Wilder 18.
ROUND THREE: Wilder started the round landing some effective combinations, but Fury turned the round in his favor with a hard right after about two minutes and dominated the rest of the way. Inquisitr scorecard: Fury 30, Wilder 27.
ROUND FOUR: Wilder threw repeated combinations, mostly missing with his wide right hand, but connected with enough jabs to draw blood from Fury’s nose. Inquisitr scorecard: Fury 39, Wilder 37.
ROUND FIVE: An ineffective round for both fighters, as Wilder continued to load up with right hands that missed. Fury was mostly inactive, but he landed some solid shots in the final minute. Inquisitr scorecard: Fury 49, Wilder 46.
ROUND SIX: In the most even round of the fight, Fury landed a few more effective jabs and Wilder continued to look for a sudden knockout, without success. Inquisitr scorecard: Fury 59, Wilder 55.
ROUND SEVEN: At the halfway mark of the round, Fury landed a pair of sharp combinations, landing his right squarely on Wilder’s jaw. Wilder had yet to solve the puzzle presented by the taller fighter. Wilder would likely need a knockout to win. Inquisitr scorecard: Fury 69, Wilder 64.
ROUND EIGHT: Fury controlled the action with sharp, rapid-fire jabs, as Wilder repeated his tendency to telegraph his overhand right, allowing Fury to duck out of the way. Inquisitr scorecard: Fury 79, Wilder 73.
ROUND NINE: KNOCKDOWN! Wilder put Fury on the canvas with 1:35 left in the round. Fury stalled for time, mugging at Wilder. Wilder may have turned the fight around, but Fury had recovered from knockdowns to win in two previous fights. Inquisitr scorecard: Fury 87, Wilder 83.
ROUND TEN: Fury turned the fight back in his favor, coming out aggressively and peppering Wilder with combinations and straight right hands. Inquisitr scorecard: Fury 97, Wilder 92.
ROUND ELEVEN: Wilder appeared to land some effective right hands, though Fury controlled the tempo and bothered Wilder, whose left eye showed significant swelling, with his jab. Inquisitr scorecard: Fury 107, Wilder 101.
ROUND TWELVE: KNOCKDOWN! Wilder flattened Fury with a huge right hand at the halfway mark, but Fury miraculously rose from near-unconsciousness to take the fight to Wilder for the remainder of the round and seal a likely win. Inquisitr scorecard: Fury 115, Wilder 111.
Fury won the title almost exactly three years ago, on November 28, 2015, when he outpointed Ukrainian Wladimir Klitschko, per the BBC , who had defended his title 18 straight times before losing to Fury, the third-most consecutive title defenses in heavyweight boxing history after Joe Louis (25) and Larry Holmes (19).
Coming into Saturday’s fight at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, Wilder was the betting favorite, according to the site Oddsshark , with a money line of -160, meaning that to win $1, a bettor would have to put down $1.60 on Wilder to win. Fury, the underdog, was assigned a money line of +130 by the Vegas oddsmakers, meaning that a $1 bet on Fury to win would bring a $1.30 payoff — if, in fact, Fury managed to inflict the first defeat on the 33-year-old Wilder, who won the heavyweight bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China.
After turning pro in November of 2008, Wilder knocked out his first 32 opponents before going the distance with Bermaine Stiverne in January of 2015. Wilder fought a rematch against Stiverne in November of 2017, this time scoring first-round KO, per BoxRec . Wilder entered Saturday’s showdown with Fury having scored knockouts in 39 of his 40 fights.
Fury has now knocked out 19 of his 28 opponents.
The six-foot, seven-inch tall Wilder weighed in at the lightest weight of his career, except for his pro debut 10 years ago, according to ESPN newspaper. Wilder weighed only 212.4 pounds, while Fury, standing six-feet, nine-inches, weighed in at 256.6 pounds — the lightest of his last three fights, after he took nearly three years off he battled mental health and substance abuse issues after his victory over Klitschko in 2015.
But Wilder shrugged off his apparent size disadvantage, according to the Guardian newspaper, saying that he did not expect the fight against Fury to be “difficult.”
“[This fight is] definitely the most important but definitely not the most difficult. I fought way tougher guys than him,” Wilder said. “My opponent last fight [Luis Ortiz] was way tougher than him. This is just another step to get to where I want to go. There will be one champion, one face, one name, and he’ll go by the name Deontay Wilder.”
Wilder earned a reported $14 million for the fight, according to the Telegraph , while Fury’s purse was estimated at $10 million.