An uppercut from elsewhere and the K.-O. : Tyson Fury blasted Dillian Whyte on Saturday in London to keep his invincibility and his WBC heavyweight belt, by K.-O. in the sixth round, following a fight presented as the last of the career of the “Gypsy King”.
A big favorite in this fight, Fury, 33, has repeated in recent weeks that he will retire following this clash. But as often, the assertions of the British, character as eccentric as whimsical, are to be taken with tweezers. Anyway, on Saturday, the 2.06 m giant electrified the 90,000 or so spectators at Wembley and increased his invincibility to 33 fights (a draw).
The temple of English football was the scene of a great boxing moment, Fury’s first fight in his country since 2018 and also his first since the end of the dantesque trilogy once morest the American Deontay Wilder, who will remain one of the most beautiful pages in the history of noble art.
Relaxed as usual — he landed in his underpants to cheer on a sparring partner who was fighting earlier in the evening — Tyson Fury entered at 11:00 p.m. in a nightclub atmosphere. The day following a surprisingly festive weigh-in between the two adversaries, he stepped into the ring illuminated by thousands of cell phones to the tune of “American Pie”, his cult song sung in a clip by Don McLean, his interpreter original.
Opposite, Dillian Whyte, 34 and former sparring partner of Fury, entered the fight solidly. But the Briton of Jamaican origin, saved from delinquency by boxing and passed through kickboxing and MMA, found it difficult to free himself followingwards.
In a choppy confrontation, Fury gradually wore down his challenger with clever if not flamboyant boxing. But an uppercut of monumental power finally swayed Whyte towards the end of the 6th round. The challenger managed to get up before staggering into the arms of the referee who ended the fight.
World boxing superstar, who went through very dark phases between depression, suicidal thoughts and suspension for doping, Tyson Fury believes that he has nothing left to prove and that this fight was his last.
It now plans to “laze on the beach, drink pina coladas, drive Ferraris and live on a boat”. All thanks to the 150 million dollars in his bank account.
But boxing fans find it hard to believe that the “King of the Gypsies” can leave the rings before a fight once morest Anthony Joshua or the Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk to aim for the unification of all the world belts.
The retrospective of the most beautiful moments of his career broadcast on the screens of the stadium just before his entrance and his statements still gave an air of reverence.
“I owed the English public a fight at Wembley. Now it’s done. I think that’s the end curtain for the Gypsy King. And what a way to go!”