Fury landed a right in the fifth but a Klitschko right hand was arguably the best punch of the fight at that stage. And given the fact that this is the first of Klitschko’s losses by way of unanimous decision, his fight with Fury is particularly impressive considering Klitschko’s age the probable wear and tear from a lifetime of competitive boxing.
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But Fury said: “Why do we need to mention Deontay Wilder?”. I found him quite awkward to land clean on, as he did me. “He will have to wait because Wladimir Klitschko has a round two, ding, ding, ding”. “I’m not going nowhere, no matter who I fight”.
“You’re a great champion Vlad, thanks very much for having me”.
“Tonight’s the start of a new era and I said I’ll be the most charismatic champion since Muhammad Ali and I’ll be that”, Fury told Sky Sports.
Fury came into the ring unfancied, if not unsung but managed to confuse, cut and in the end outclass the champion whose last defeat was 11 years ago.
“I can’t believe it”, he said before breaking down in tears.
Klitschko, who is used to fighting shorter opponents who he can keep at arm’s length, was looking every one of his 39 years as his ponderous, orthodox style threatened to lose him the fight.
“This is a dream come true”, he said.
Fury controlled the fight from the outset.
He was rewarded for his superior work-rate by the three judges and erupted into celebrations. “It’s a Jerry Maguire moment for me and Mick Hennessy – everyone wrote us off but we’ve done it”. I thought I had to get a knockout but they showed me that love.
“He caught me with some good shots”. Tyson was quick with his body shots and his head movement…
The buildup to the fight had seen Fury dressing as Batman and serenading and insulting Klitschko, and even complimenting him on his scent.
It had been a tense affair, with numerous rounds close. In power punches landed, Fury had a 48-18 advantage.
On paper, Klitschko had a three-inch height disadvantage and a four-inch reach disadvantage – and admitted that those factors made things hard.
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Fury, changing between southpaw and orthodox stance, kept chipping away at Klitschko’s defences with his combinations and by the eighth round the champion was bleeding from a cheek wound.
