Boxing: Fury beats Whyte to retain world heavyweight title

LONDON -- Tyson Fury retained his WBC heavyweight crown on Saturday, stopping Dillian Whyte in round six of an all-British bout at a delirious Wembley Stadium before repeating his suggestion that he would now retire.

The win for the self-styled 'Gypsy King', fighting on UK soil for the first time in four years, was witnessed by 94,000 fans in London -- a post-war British record crowd.

Unbeaten Fury, 33, had said this would be his last fight and announced immediately afterwards: "This might be the final curtain for the Gypsy King. And what a way to go out."

After a cagey opening the defending champion took the initiative, controlling the fight and landing some telling blows to the head and body of his opponent.

Whyte could have few complaints at a halt being called with just one second remaining before the fight reached the midway point as he was clearly on unsteady legs after the first significant strike of the bout, a brutal right uppercut from Fury.

The 6 feet 9 inch (206-centimetre tall) Fury was able to use his considerable height and reach advantage to keep Whyte at bay while the challenger was made to look clumsy and cumbersome.

Whyte, cut over his right eye after an accidental clash of heads, was first installed as the WBC's number one contender nearly four years ago but he was unable to impose himself.

"I'm overwhelmed with the support," said Fury. "I can't believe that my 94,000 countrymen and women have come here tonight to see me perform. 

"I just want to say from the bottom of my heart, 'Thank you so much to every single person who bought a ticket here tonight or stayed up late to watch it on TV'."

- Unification bout -

If Fury does follow through with his plan to quit, he would spurn the chance to face either Oleksandr Usyk -- the current WBA, IBF and WBO champion -- or fellow British fighter Anthony Joshua for the undisputed crown.

No boxer has held all the major world heavyweight belts since Britain's Lennox Lewis, who became the undisputed champion in 1999.

But Fury, now unbeaten in 33 fights, appears to be sticking to his guns.

"I promised my lovely wife Paris of 14 years that after the Wilder three fight, that would be it," he said.

"And I meant it. We had a war. It was a great trilogy. And I meant that. But I got offered to fight at Wembley at home, and I believe that I deserved -- that I owed it to the fans."

Jamaica-born Whyte, 34, was greeted with boos as he emerged into the cavernous stadium, dressed in black.

Excitement levels hit fever pitch as Fury entered to the strains of Don McLean's "American Pie", which accompanied a video montage of his career.

Fury, wearing a white and red robe and gloves featuring the Cross of St George -- the flag of England -- sat on a gold throne as fireworks shot into the air before jogging to the ring.

After delighting the crowd with his victory, he led them in another rendition of "American Pie".

Fury hailed Whyte as a "warrior", predicting he would be a world champion one day but said his opponent had met a "great" in the sport.

"I'm one of the greatest heavyweights of all time," he said. "And unfortunately for Dillian Whyte, he had to face me here tonight. There's no disgrace."

Agence France-Presse

Boxing: Fury wary of Whyte threat as tensions mount before title fight

LONDON -- World heavyweight champion Tyson Fury said he will need his "A-game" to beat Dillian Whyte on Saturday as the tensions mounted ahead of the bout with his British rival.

Fury and Whyte joined forces to play peacemaker at their final pre-fight press conference on Friday after the champion's father John and a member of Whyte's camp became involved in a heated exchange on stage.

The unbeaten Fury is widely expected to retain his WBC title in front of a post-war British record boxing crowd of 94,000 at Wembley.

But, in what he says is the last fight of his career, the 33-year-old has no intention of taking a farewell victory for granted.

"I think everybody is underestimating how good this fight is going to be. I see the odds and laugh at them because they're obviously coming from people who don't know boxing," Fury told reporters on Friday.

"This is a heavyweight boxing fight, anybody can win with one punch. If I'm not on my A-game then that man's going to knock my head right off my shoulders.

"I'm going to have to be on form to beat him and he will have to perform at his best to beat me. He's definitely a man that needs a lot of respect and that's what I've given him.

"I've done everything I can possibly do to train for this. I've trained as hard for Dillian as I have for (Deontay) Wilder or (Wladimir) Klitschko. He'll be fighting the best Tyson Fury."

Ahead of Fury's first on British soil since August 2018, the mutual respect between the champion and his former sparring partner was evident as they shared a handshake after their staredown for photographers.

Mandatory challenger Whyte has waited years for his world title shot.

The Jamaica-born 34-year-old is no stranger to adversity, having been shot and stabbed when he was drawn into London's gang culture in his youth.

Whyte, who fathered the first of his three children aged 13, has turned his life around through boxing and is relishing the opportunity to fight for a world title.

"I'm willing to do whatever it takes. I'm that kind of fighter where whatever I've got to do I will do: it's victory by any means necessary," Whyte said.

"It means everything to fight in my home country for the world title. It's massive. I'm not scared to take risks, I've taken risks my whole life so it's nothing new. I'm ready to rock and roll."

Agence France-Presse

Rejuvenated Fury ready for heavyweight title showdown vs Wilder

LOS ANGELES — The sun shines on Tyson Fury every morning in California.

The larger-than-life heavyweight from Manchester has found comfort and calm far from home. Whether training in the high-altitude seclusion of Big Bear or sampling Los Angeles' good life at a Lakers game, Fury believes he has found the proper place to start again.

"It's been a long, hard road with many obstacles in the way," Fury said this week. "I think it's all been well documented. But it didn't get me. I found a way. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, more determined. My story has got more pain in it now. I believe that rain has passed and the sun is shining brightly."

When Fury (27-0, 19 KOs) takes on Deontay Wilder (40-0, 39 KOs) at Staples Center on Saturday night (Sunday Manila time) in one of the biggest heavyweight bouts in years, he is fighting for a victory in the ring that would mirror his extraordinary comeback from the brink of personal disaster.

The friends and co-workers who know every detail of Fury's remarkable rise and incredible fall sometimes marvel at his recovery from depression, drug abuse, heavy drinking and spectacular weight gain during a fraught, decadent two-year spiral.

Not many fighters have reached the pinnacle of their sport as sublimely as Fury did when he defeated the seemingly unbeatable Wladimir Klitschko in November 2015.

And while many boxers have fallen hard and fast after their greatest triumphs, not many have dusted themselves off and resumed their careers with the vigor displayed by the 30-year-old man named after Mike Tyson.

"To see where he's at today is a testament to this man and what he's done," said his promoter, Frank Warren. "Coming from rock bottom to being here, not as the contender but the lineal champion, it's truly remarkable. He's been a consummate professional for the last year. He has already answered a lot of questions about himself, and now he has to answer the biggest one."

Everything about Fury is enormous. The self-described "bald, big-bearded hulk of a man" is a thick 6-foot-9 with a voice that can sound like tires on gravel, yet he carries the physical presence of an elite athlete, not a bar bouncer.

Fury showed that athleticism while carving out a spot in Britain's crowded boxing landscape. He patiently maneuvered his way into a shot at the peerless Klitschko, and he dominated the long-reigning champ with a persistent jab and canny strategy in a shocking unanimous-decision win.

And then it all fell apart. A lucrative rematch with Klitschko had to be scrapped when he tested positive for cocaine use after a summer of partying, and he gradually lost all the title belts he had claimed. Fury also made a series of homophobic, sexist, transphobic and anti-Semitic statements in interviews, thoroughly eroding the goodwill established by his unlikely victory.

Fury apologized for some of his missteps, and he remained candid about his struggles with depression and the type of compulsive behavior that left him weighing nearly 400 pounds after a months-long diet of cheeseburgers, cakes and lager.

Fury didn't get himself together again until last year, and Britain's licensing board reinstated him in January. He returned to the ring for two moderately impressive wins over outmatched opponents last summer— but those were proper warmups for this shot at Wilder, Fury says.

"It took me about 2 1/2 years to actually start missing the sport," Fury said. "Once I started missing it, the fire re-lit again. I'm just happy that I've worked to reach this position again. As for the titles being taken away, they didn't get taken away. I gave them away myself because I had mental problems. I stand here as an ambassador for mental health, and I am the people's champion. I've got millions of people around the world that look up to me. I'm fighting for those people."

Fury never lost the ability to sell a fight. He cultivates a personality as a likable, garrulous brute, and he is a comic counterpart to the similarly verbose Wilder's more aggressive verbal style.

Earlier this week, Fury walked around Los Angeles with a video crew , asking people if they had ever heard of Wilder. He says he found only two boxing fans who had ever heard the name.

When they faced off at their final news conference Wednesday, they nearly came to blows — and while their camps held them back, Fury responded by ripping off his shirt.

Fury scoffs at any worries about ring rust or Wilder's fearsome punching power. After everything Fury has beaten to get back in the ring, he seems genuinely calm and grateful for the opportunity to get to work.

"I believe everybody deserves a second chance," Fury said. "I mean, just look at me."

source: philstar.com