Father time & Tyson Fury catch up with Wladimir Klitschko
Tyson Fury (r) celebrates after defeating Wladimir Klitschko (l) to become the new World Heavyweight Champion after their IBF, IBO, WBA, WBO Heavyweight World Title fight at Esprit-Arena, November 28, 2015 in Duesseldorf, Germany. Photo: Lars Baron/Bongarts/Getty Images
To be successful in a boxing match, it’s essential 1) that you get your opponent’s hands to drop by throwing body shots, 2) you throw more accurate punches than your opponent, and 3) to do both, you have to have the necessary hand-speed. When you’re getting close to 40 years of age (Klitschko turns 40 in March), it’s a given your hand speed is not going to be on par with a man who is just 27 years of age.
On Saturday night, father time caught up with Wladimir “Dr. Steelhammer” Klitschko who was repeatedly beaten to the punch by the younger and three inches taller Tyson Fury with his amazing 85” reach.
Like Klitschko, Fury made his way through the heavyweight division utilizing his long jab. When we compare their weight, Fury, from Wilmslow, Cheshire, United Kingdom, weighed in at 247 pounds, just 1¼ pounds more than Klitschko from Kiev, Ukraine. Klitschko had been boxing for over 19 years, while Fury, the son of the former-British Heavyweight “Gypsy” John Fury, had been boxing for seven years.
On Saturday, Fury, the unbeaten challenger (25-0, 18 KOs) won a 12 round unanimous decision to dethrone Klitschko, the WBA/IBF/WBO heavyweight champ (64-4, 54 KOs) in front of the 55,000 plus in attendance at the ESPIRIT Arena in Dusseldorf, Germany. As has been his m. o., Fury fought a cautious, cunning fight to neutralize Klitschko’s powerful right hand. To make matters worse the Champ only landed, on average, four punches per round through the first six rounds. Early in round five, Klitschko sustained a nasty cut under his left eye. As he usually does, Fury, with that long pawing jab, seemed content to just pile up points by repeatedly snapping at Klitschko’s noggin with his jab. He also belittled the Champ and placed both hands behind his back. The same way a child might do while asking a mate to pick which hand has the golden coin.
The only caution for Fury came in round 11 when he hit the reigning champ on the back of the head for the fifth time and referee Tony Weeks finally got the gumption to call it a foul worthy of a point deduction. As is usually the case, both boxers went at it full blast in the final round and the now former champion went out in a blaze of glory. Winning that final round, after losing so many earlier rounds, did little to alter the perception of his ugly, non-competitive performance. The judges’ scores were almost identical 115-112, 115-112, 116-111 all in favor of the new undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the World, Tyson Fury.
Insights into our new heavyweight Champion:
When being interviewed after the fight by former Heavyweight Champ Lennox Lewis, Fury duly noted, “All that carrying on in the past, it was all tongue and cheek, yeah.” For Fury’s ring entrance song, he had them play ‘I’m Gonna Have a Little Talk with Jesus’ by Randy Travis. That was certainly revealing. Then, after becoming the new World Heavyweight Champ, he became even more schmaltzy, tenderhearted, and in the center of the ring began to sing Aerosmith’s mega hit, I don’t wanna miss a thing to his wife and as they say, ‘He sung his heart out.’ To close out the show, you were half expecting an encore or perhaps a rendition of Freddy Mercury’s, We are the Champions, my friend.
After the fight we see Tyson Fury celebrating with his newly won belts after defeating Wladimir Klitschko to become the new World Heavyweight Champion. Photo: Lars Baron/Bongarts/Getty Images
Actress Hayden Panettiere, wife of Wladimir Klitschko poses for photos prior to her husband’s failed attempt to defend his World Heavyweight titles. Photo: Lars Baron/Bongarts/Getty Images
Prior to the Fury vs. Klitschko showdown, singer Rod Stewart (l) performed for the crowd of 55,000 plus which included ex-boxers Lennox Lewis and Henry Maske (r) who were kind enough to pose for photos prior to the fight.
