Tyson Fury retiring? His family and oddsmakers expect the heavyweight champion to box again.
Tyson Fury still says that he’s going to emulate Rocky Marciano by retiring as the undefeated heavyweight champion after his sensational sixth-round knockout of Dillian Whyte on Saturday in London.
Others – including family members and the oddsmakers – have their doubts.
Fury’s wife and father said the WBC titleholder won’t be able to resist a showdown with the winner of the tentative bout between three-belt champ Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua for the undisputed championship.
“I would like him to come out now,” wife Paris Fury said, according to The Guardian. “He has nothing more to prove. For Tyson to keep boxing, it just seems for one reason and I know in my heart, I think the only reason that Tyson will come back is for the unification fight.”
John Fury said a unification fight would be particularly attractive to his son if Joshua manages to avenge his loss to Usyk. Fans have yearned for an all-British Fury-Joshua fight for years.
“If AJ can win,” the elder Fury said, “wild horses couldn’t keep Tyson in retirement.”
One betting outlet believes, based on its odds, that there’s a good chance Fury will take part in a sanctioned boxing match again this year with even shorter odds for 2023.
The outlet, William Hill, says there’s about a 50% chance Fury will fight again this year and 75% he’ll be back before the end of next year. There’s a 33% chance he won’t fight again by the end of 2023, according to the company.
“There’s still business to be done for Tyson Fury,” said Michael Hill spokesperson Tony Kenny, according to DAZN News. “A unification bout could be on the table soon. …
“Fury is a crowd-pleaser, and nothing would satisfy the masses more than a dust-up with Anthony Joshua. That fight would surely draw Fury out of retirement and we make it evens to happen before the end of next year.”
Meanwhile, Tyson Fury himself is talking about other endeavors.
He said he might take part in a WWE wrestling event in either July or September. He wrestled in 2019. He reiterated that a hybrid exhibition with MMA star Francis Ngannou is realistic possibility.
What about boxing?
“I’ve fulfilled everything I’ve ever wanted to fulfil,” he said. “I’m going to be the second heavyweight in history after Rocky Marciano to retire undefeated. I’ve won every belt there is to win. If this was a computer game, it would definitely be completed for sure.”
Tyson Fury retiring? His family and oddsmakers expect the heavyweight champion to box again.
Tyson Fury still says that he’s going to emulate Rocky Marciano by retiring as the undefeated heavyweight champion after his sensational sixth-round knockout of Dillian Whyte on Saturday in London.
Others – including family members and the oddsmakers – have their doubts.
Fury’s wife and father said the WBC titleholder won’t be able to resist a showdown with the winner of the tentative bout between three-belt champ Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua for the undisputed championship.
“I would like him to come out now,” wife Paris Fury said, according to The Guardian. “He has nothing more to prove. For Tyson to keep boxing, it just seems for one reason and I know in my heart, I think the only reason that Tyson will come back is for the unification fight.”
John Fury said a unification fight would be particularly attractive to his son if Joshua manages to avenge his loss to Usyk. Fans have yearned for an all-British Fury-Joshua fight for years.
“If AJ can win,” the elder Fury said, “wild horses couldn’t keep Tyson in retirement.”
One betting outlet believes, based on its odds, that there’s a good chance Fury will take part in a sanctioned boxing match again this year with even shorter odds for 2023.
The outlet, William Hill, says there’s about a 50% chance Fury will fight again this year and 75% he’ll be back before the end of next year. There’s a 33% chance he won’t fight again by the end of 2023, according to the company.
“There’s still business to be done for Tyson Fury,” said Michael Hill spokesperson Tony Kenny, according to DAZN News. “A unification bout could be on the table soon. …
“Fury is a crowd-pleaser, and nothing would satisfy the masses more than a dust-up with Anthony Joshua. That fight would surely draw Fury out of retirement and we make it evens to happen before the end of next year.”
Meanwhile, Tyson Fury himself is talking about other endeavors.
He said he might take part in a WWE wrestling event in either July or September. He wrestled in 2019. He reiterated that a hybrid exhibition with MMA star Francis Ngannou is realistic possibility.
What about boxing?
“I’ve fulfilled everything I’ve ever wanted to fulfil,” he said. “I’m going to be the second heavyweight in history after Rocky Marciano to retire undefeated. I’ve won every belt there is to win. If this was a computer game, it would definitely be completed for sure.”
Good, bad, worse: Tyson Fury put on an unforgettable show in London.
A critical look at the past week in boxing
GOOD
What a moment.
Tyson Fury returns home to England after three-plus years away, dominates Dillian Whyte for five-plus rounds and then knocks him out with a mammoth right uppercut in Round 6 to retain his heavyweight title Saturday before a U.K.-record 94,000 adoring fans at Wembley Stadium.
Could it get any better than that?
I don’t know whether it can be described as the greatest performance in Fury’s career given Whyte’s obvious limitations. But he’s unlikely to top the drama he served up on an unforgettable night in London.
And it gets better when you consider the bumpy path Fury took to get to Saturday night.
In November 2015 he gave arguably his most impressive performance, a dominating unanimous decision over long-reigning, seemingly untouchable heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko in Germany.
Then the bottom fell out of his life, as he left boxing for 2½ years, ballooned to a reported 400 pounds and entered a pitched battle with his demons, including substance abuse and depression. Things got so bad that he contemplated suicide.
The notion that he would return to face Deontay Wilder in a classic three-fight series, reclaim the distinction of being the No. 1 heavyweight in the world and then do what he did on Saturday would’ve been unthinkable.
Yet here we are.
Fury is the best heavyweight of his era (yes, better than Oleksandr Usyk as things stand now). A 6-foot-9 man has no right to box or move as lithely as he does. And trainer Sugar Hill Steward has turned him into a formidable puncher, as Whyte learned.
He has evolved into one of the sport’s most engaging personalities, which is saying something given crude early-career comments that were widely criticized. He’s good fun now.
And in light of the obstacles he has overcome he is nothing short of an inspiration to many people.
Fury, having worked himself back into fighting shape, once posted on social media a photo of himself when he weighed 400 pounds. The caption read: “When someone says you can’t do something, look at this and remember anything is possible.”
BAD
Have we seen the last of Fury in a boxing ring? I doubt it.
The 33-year-old Mancunian said repeatedly after his victory over Whyte that his intention is to retire. I don’t believe he’s lying. I just feel, based on so many other fighters who “retired” and then returned, that the call of the ring is immensely powerful.
I’m not talking only about money, although the many millions he stands to make will serve as motivation to return. No, I would ask: What could Fury do that can top performing at the highest level of his profession in front of millions of people worldwide?
Fury is a fighter, but he’s also an entertainer. And an entertainer needs an audience.
A hybrid fight against MMA star Francis Ngannou would generate a fortune and serve as a stage for Fury but it wouldn’t be the same as a boxing match. Fury vs. Ngannou would be gimmicky, akin to a Mike Tyson senior exhibition and fights involving YouTuber-turned-fighter Jake Paul.
Fury is a boxer through and through. I believe he’ll engage in the sweet science as long as he can do it at a high level. And let’s be clear: He’s at the absolute peak of his abilities, as we saw on Saturday.
How could he walk away now?
It happens. Rocky Marciano, Lennox Lewis and Carl Froch are among those who retired as world champions and never returned. Fury could join that group if he’s truly determined to begin a new chapter in his life and that of his family.
I’d bet against it, though. The opportunity to fight the winner of the tentative Usyk-Anthony Joshua fight for the undisputed heavyweight championship will be too tempting for him to pass up, in terms of both the money to be collected and a chance to further enhance his legacy.
I’ll be shocked if the uppercut that stopped Whyte is the last punch Fury will have thrown as a boxer.
WORSE
Other prominent boxers have engaged in silly events. Muhammad Ali “fought” wrestler Antonio Inoki while he was still an active boxer. George Foreman once took on five men in one night. And Floyd Mayweather play-acted with wrestler Paul “The Big Show” Wight.
Fury would be following in their footsteps if he takes on Ngannou, who was invited into the ring after Fury’s victory and later said a meeting between the two will take place next year.
I wouldn’t blame Fury for taking part in such an event from a business standpoint. Most people would take advantage of an opportunity to make a fortune in what would amount to a workout.
And if they fight under boxing rules – MMA gloves or no MMA gloves – Fury would be taking next to no risk. It would be as absurd as the Mayweather-Conor McGregor matchup, in which that popular MMA star – with limited boxing skills – had no chance to win. Small (read: no) risk, big gain.
I’m a capitalist. I get it. That said, I didn’t like the Ali, Foreman and Mayweather events. And I don’t like this one.
Fury fighting Ngannou would be akin to Bob Dylan writing a jingle for a product on television or Steven Spielberg directing a TikTok video. It’s beneath Fury to face an opponent who doesn’t have the ability to compete with him, which would create a circus atmosphere.
So will it happen?
Well, I thought it was interesting that Ngannou said the fight will happen sometime next year, not sooner. Maybe Fury just wants to take a long rest. Or maybe he remains open to fighting Usyk or Joshua before he engages in events outside boxing.
Good, bad, worse: Tyson Fury put on an unforgettable show in London.
A critical look at the past week in boxing
GOOD
What a moment.
Tyson Fury returns home to England after three-plus years away, dominates Dillian Whyte for five-plus rounds and then knocks him out with a mammoth right uppercut in Round 6 to retain his heavyweight title Saturday before a U.K.-record 94,000 adoring fans at Wembley Stadium.
Could it get any better than that?
I don’t know whether it can be described as the greatest performance in Fury’s career given Whyte’s obvious limitations. But he’s unlikely to top the drama he served up on an unforgettable night in London.
And it gets better when you consider the bumpy path Fury took to get to Saturday night.
In November 2015 he gave arguably his most impressive performance, a dominating unanimous decision over long-reigning, seemingly untouchable heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko in Germany.
Then the bottom fell out of his life, as he left boxing for 2½ years, ballooned to a reported 400 pounds and entered a pitched battle with his demons, including substance abuse and depression. Things got so bad that he contemplated suicide.
The notion that he would return to face Deontay Wilder in a classic three-fight series, reclaim the distinction of being the No. 1 heavyweight in the world and then do what he did on Saturday would’ve been unthinkable.
Yet here we are.
Fury is the best heavyweight of his era (yes, better than Oleksandr Usyk as things stand now). A 6-foot-9 man has no right to box or move as lithely as he does. And trainer Sugar Hill Steward has turned him into a formidable puncher, as Whyte learned.
He has evolved into one of the sport’s most engaging personalities, which is saying something given crude early-career comments that were widely criticized. He’s good fun now.
And in light of the obstacles he has overcome he is nothing short of an inspiration to many people.
Fury, having worked himself back into fighting shape, once posted on social media a photo of himself when he weighed 400 pounds. The caption read: “When someone says you can’t do something, look at this and remember anything is possible.”
BAD
Have we seen the last of Fury in a boxing ring? I doubt it.
The 33-year-old Mancunian said repeatedly after his victory over Whyte that his intention is to retire. I don’t believe he’s lying. I just feel, based on so many other fighters who “retired” and then returned, that the call of the ring is immensely powerful.
I’m not talking only about money, although the many millions he stands to make will serve as motivation to return. No, I would ask: What could Fury do that can top performing at the highest level of his profession in front of millions of people worldwide?
Fury is a fighter, but he’s also an entertainer. And an entertainer needs an audience.
A hybrid fight against MMA star Francis Ngannou would generate a fortune and serve as a stage for Fury but it wouldn’t be the same as a boxing match. Fury vs. Ngannou would be gimmicky, akin to a Mike Tyson senior exhibition and fights involving YouTuber-turned-fighter Jake Paul.
Fury is a boxer through and through. I believe he’ll engage in the sweet science as long as he can do it at a high level. And let’s be clear: He’s at the absolute peak of his abilities, as we saw on Saturday.
How could he walk away now?
It happens. Rocky Marciano, Lennox Lewis and Carl Froch are among those who retired as world champions and never returned. Fury could join that group if he’s truly determined to begin a new chapter in his life and that of his family.
I’d bet against it, though. The opportunity to fight the winner of the tentative Usyk-Anthony Joshua fight for the undisputed heavyweight championship will be too tempting for him to pass up, in terms of both the money to be collected and a chance to further enhance his legacy.
I’ll be shocked if the uppercut that stopped Whyte is the last punch Fury will have thrown as a boxer.
WORSE
Other prominent boxers have engaged in silly events. Muhammad Ali “fought” wrestler Antonio Inoki while he was still an active boxer. George Foreman once took on five men in one night. And Floyd Mayweather play-acted with wrestler Paul “The Big Show” Wight.
Fury would be following in their footsteps if he takes on Ngannou, who was invited into the ring after Fury’s victory and later said a meeting between the two will take place next year.
I wouldn’t blame Fury for taking part in such an event from a business standpoint. Most people would take advantage of an opportunity to make a fortune in what would amount to a workout.
And if they fight under boxing rules – MMA gloves or no MMA gloves – Fury would be taking next to no risk. It would be as absurd as the Mayweather-Conor McGregor matchup, in which that popular MMA star – with limited boxing skills – had no chance to win. Small (read: no) risk, big gain.
I’m a capitalist. I get it. That said, I didn’t like the Ali, Foreman and Mayweather events. And I don’t like this one.
Fury fighting Ngannou would be akin to Bob Dylan writing a jingle for a product on television or Steven Spielberg directing a TikTok video. It’s beneath Fury to face an opponent who doesn’t have the ability to compete with him, which would create a circus atmosphere.
So will it happen?
Well, I thought it was interesting that Ngannou said the fight will happen sometime next year, not sooner. Maybe Fury just wants to take a long rest. Or maybe he remains open to fighting Usyk or Joshua before he engages in events outside boxing.
Many on Twitter have offered their reactions after Tyson Fury’s one-punch knockout over Dillian Whyte on Saturday at Wembley Stadium. Here is sampling. LENNOX LEWIS A great showing by @Tyson_Fury tonight. It emphatically keeps him as the man to …
Many on Twitter have offered their reactions after Tyson Fury’s one-punch knockout over Dillian Whyte on Saturday at Wembley Stadium.
Here is sampling.
LENNOX LEWIS
A great showing by @Tyson_Fury tonight. It emphatically keeps him as the man to beat. He’s already in a very exclusive club in boxing, but I look forward to welcoming him to the #undisputed club. Let’s get it done! 👊🏾💥💪🏾 #BTSportBoxing
✅ Overcame mental health issues ✅ Overcame drink problems ✅ Overcame drug problems ✅ Lost 10 stone in weight ✅ Won his heavyweight titles back ✅ Proved his class against Wilder ✅ Destroyed Whyte on home soil@Tyson_Fury’s journey is inspirational. pic.twitter.com/U1PJEttBUt
Tyson Fury becomes the third person to beat Dillian Whyte and the third person to do so by KOing him with a huge uppercut. First Anthony Joshua, then Alexander Povetkin and now Fury.
It’s all over! Tyson Fury retains his WBC heavyweight title with a one-punch knockout of Dillian Whyte in Round 6, a right uppercut that met the mark. Whyte beat the count, but when asked to walk forward, he stumbled into the ropes wth just seconds left in the round #FuryWhyte
Many on Twitter have offered their reactions after Tyson Fury’s one-punch knockout over Dillian Whyte on Saturday at Wembley Stadium. Here is sampling. LENNOX LEWIS A great showing by @Tyson_Fury tonight. It emphatically keeps him as the man to …
Many on Twitter have offered their reactions after Tyson Fury’s one-punch knockout over Dillian Whyte on Saturday at Wembley Stadium.
Here is sampling.
LENNOX LEWIS
A great showing by @Tyson_Fury tonight. It emphatically keeps him as the man to beat. He’s already in a very exclusive club in boxing, but I look forward to welcoming him to the #undisputed club. Let’s get it done! 👊🏾💥💪🏾 #BTSportBoxing
✅ Overcame mental health issues ✅ Overcame drink problems ✅ Overcame drug problems ✅ Lost 10 stone in weight ✅ Won his heavyweight titles back ✅ Proved his class against Wilder ✅ Destroyed Whyte on home soil@Tyson_Fury’s journey is inspirational. pic.twitter.com/U1PJEttBUt
Tyson Fury becomes the third person to beat Dillian Whyte and the third person to do so by KOing him with a huge uppercut. First Anthony Joshua, then Alexander Povetkin and now Fury.
It’s all over! Tyson Fury retains his WBC heavyweight title with a one-punch knockout of Dillian Whyte in Round 6, a right uppercut that met the mark. Whyte beat the count, but when asked to walk forward, he stumbled into the ropes wth just seconds left in the round #FuryWhyte
Tyson Fury deliverd a mammoth knockout of Dillian Whyte in what he says is his last hurrah Saturday in London.
If we’ve seen the last of Tyson Fury, he went out as dramatically as he possibly could.
The heavyweight champion outboxed frustrated challenger Dillian Whyte for almost all of five-plus rounds, leaving little doubt about his superiority over his countryman in front of 94,000 fans Saturday at Wembley Stadium in London.
But it’s the final moment of fight that fans will never forget, a brutally perfect right uppercut that put Whyte on his back, ended the fight in Round 6 and sent the raucous crowd into a tizzy.
Afterward, Fury, 33, reiterated that he plans to retire at the top of his game. Of course, many will find that hard to believe, particularly because he and MMA star Francis Ngannou talked about some sort of clash after Fury said he would call it quits.
“Dillian Whyte is a warrior,” Fury said. “And I believe Dillian Whyte will be a world champion. But tonight … I’m one of the greatest heavyweights of all time. And unfortunately for Dillian Whyte he had to face me here tonight.
“He’s strong as a bull and he had the heart of a lion, but he wasn’t messing with a mediocre heavyweight. He was messing with the best man on the plant. And you saw what happened.”
Fury (32-0-1, 23 KOs) was coming off back-to-back knockout victories in his second and third fights against Deontay Wilder, fights in which Fury fought more aggressively than he had in the past.
Against Whyte (28-3, 19 KOs), he was patient. He jabbed, he threw straight power shots between Whyte’s guard, he moved when it behooved him and he clinched when the challenger got close enough to do damage.
The formula neutralized everything Whyte tried to do, leaving the Londoner so frustrated that he threw wild, amateurish punches and resorted to dirty tactics.
Two and half minutes into Round 6, it appeared as if Fury might cruise to lopsided decision over the ineffectual Whyte. Instead, Fury delivered one of the more epic knockouts in recent history in his first fight in home country in 3½ years.
With about 10 seconds remaining in the round, Fury planted his feet and, as his opponent moved toward him, unleased the uppercut and found Whyte’s chin. Whyte started to fall forward, prompted Fury to give him a shove and send him to the canvas.
Whyte, badly hurt, was able to get to his feet. He was even able to take a step forward when referee Mark Lyson instructed him to do so. However, he stumbled in the process, which prompted Lyson to signal the end of the fight by waving his arms as fans at Wembley roared.
The official time of the stoppage was 2:59 of Round 6, Fury’s earliest knockout since he put Tom Schwarz away in two rounds in June 2019.
And that, according to Fury is that. He had suggested that this would be his swan song – at least in a boxing ring – in the weeks leading up to the fight. And he made it clear after his victory Saturday that he wasn’t joking.
“I promised my lovely wife Paris that after the Wilder three fight, that would be it,” he said. “I meant it but … I owed it to the fans, I owed it to every person in the U.K. to come here and fight at Wembley.
“Now that it’s [done] I have to be a man of my word. I think this is it. This might be the final curtain for the ‘Gypsy King.’ And what a way to go out!”
Then, as Fury was conducting a second interview in the ring only a few minutes later, he called Ngannou to the microphone and the two seemed to indicate that a meeting between the two is in the works.
Ngannou, a 35-year-old from Cameroon, said their meeting would be a “hybrid fight” with MMA gloves – which means it wouldn’t be sanctioned as a boxing match — but neither went into great detail. The two would earn at least seven figures (eight? nine?), so the event makes sense from an economic perspective.
Then, of course, he could target the winner of the tentative rematch between fellow titleholder Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua in what would be another opportunity to build his already-sterling legacy.
Of course, no one – perhaps not even Fury – knows whether he’s finished with boxing. We do know he’s the best in boxing’s glamour division at what does and has never been a bigger star. In other words, he has his world on a string.
Tyson Fury deliverd a mammoth knockout of Dillian Whyte in what he says is his last hurrah Saturday in London.
If we’ve seen the last of Tyson Fury, he went out as dramatically as he possibly could.
The heavyweight champion outboxed frustrated challenger Dillian Whyte for almost all of five-plus rounds, leaving little doubt about his superiority over his countryman in front of 94,000 fans Saturday at Wembley Stadium in London.
But it’s the final moment of fight that fans will never forget, a brutally perfect right uppercut that put Whyte on his back, ended the fight in Round 6 and sent the raucous crowd into a tizzy.
Afterward, Fury, 33, reiterated that he plans to retire at the top of his game. Of course, many will find that hard to believe, particularly because he and MMA star Francis Ngannou talked about some sort of clash after Fury said he would call it quits.
“Dillian Whyte is a warrior,” Fury said. “And I believe Dillian Whyte will be a world champion. But tonight … I’m one of the greatest heavyweights of all time. And unfortunately for Dillian Whyte he had to face me here tonight.
“He’s strong as a bull and he had the heart of a lion, but he wasn’t messing with a mediocre heavyweight. He was messing with the best man on the plant. And you saw what happened.”
Fury (32-0-1, 23 KOs) was coming off back-to-back knockout victories in his second and third fights against Deontay Wilder, fights in which Fury fought more aggressively than he had in the past.
Against Whyte (28-3, 19 KOs), he was patient. He jabbed, he threw straight power shots between Whyte’s guard, he moved when it behooved him and he clinched when the challenger got close enough to do damage.
The formula neutralized everything Whyte tried to do, leaving the Londoner so frustrated that he threw wild, amateurish punches and resorted to dirty tactics.
Two and half minutes into Round 6, it appeared as if Fury might cruise to lopsided decision over the ineffectual Whyte. Instead, Fury delivered one of the more epic knockouts in recent history in his first fight in home country in 3½ years.
With about 10 seconds remaining in the round, Fury planted his feet and, as his opponent moved toward him, unleased the uppercut and found Whyte’s chin. Whyte started to fall forward, prompted Fury to give him a shove and send him to the canvas.
Whyte, badly hurt, was able to get to his feet. He was even able to take a step forward when referee Mark Lyson instructed him to do so. However, he stumbled in the process, which prompted Lyson to signal the end of the fight by waving his arms as fans at Wembley roared.
The official time of the stoppage was 2:59 of Round 6, Fury’s earliest knockout since he put Tom Schwarz away in two rounds in June 2019.
And that, according to Fury is that. He had suggested that this would be his swan song – at least in a boxing ring – in the weeks leading up to the fight. And he made it clear after his victory Saturday that he wasn’t joking.
“I promised my lovely wife Paris that after the Wilder three fight, that would be it,” he said. “I meant it but … I owed it to the fans, I owed it to every person in the U.K. to come here and fight at Wembley.
“Now that it’s [done] I have to be a man of my word. I think this is it. This might be the final curtain for the ‘Gypsy King.’ And what a way to go out!”
Then, as Fury was conducting a second interview in the ring only a few minutes later, he called Ngannou to the microphone and the two seemed to indicate that a meeting between the two is in the works.
Ngannou, a 35-year-old from Cameroon, said their meeting would be a “hybrid fight” with MMA gloves – which means it wouldn’t be sanctioned as a boxing match — but neither went into great detail. The two would earn at least seven figures (eight? nine?), so the event makes sense from an economic perspective.
Then, of course, he could target the winner of the tentative rematch between fellow titleholder Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua in what would be another opportunity to build his already-sterling legacy.
Of course, no one – perhaps not even Fury – knows whether he’s finished with boxing. We do know he’s the best in boxing’s glamour division at what does and has never been a bigger star. In other words, he has his world on a string.
Tyson Fury on Friday weighed in lighter for Dillian Whyte than he did for his last two fights against Deontay Wilder.
Tyson Fury on Friday weighed in at 264.8 pounds for his pay-per-view fight against Dillian Whyte Saturday at Wembley Stadium in London.
That’s the heavyweight champ’s lightest weight since he came in at 254.4 against Otto Wallin three fights ago. He weighed 273 and 277, respectively, for his subsequent knockout victories over Deontay Wilder.
Whyte weighed 253.25, which is slightly heavier than his last two weights against Alexander Povetkin.
The weigh-in was largely uneventful.
After Fury stepped off the scale, the fighters engaged in the obligatory stare down. The champion stood on his toes to emphasize his height advantage (he’s 6-foot-9, Whyte 6-4) and the two exchanged words, which is typical of every weigh-in.
They then expressed the respect they have for one another by shaking hands and exchanging caps. Fury then warmly put his arm around Whyte.
Of course, things won’t be so congenial before an expected 94,000 on Saturday, when Fury (31-0-1, 22 KOs) will be making the second defense of his second reign as a heavyweight titleholder.
He won the WBC belt by stopping Wilder in seven rounds in February 2020 and then KO’d his rival in 11 rounds in their third fight last October, the 2021 Fight of the Year.
Whyte (28-2, 19 KOs) will be making his second attempt to win a major world title. He was stopped in seven rounds by then-beltholder Anthony Joshua in 2015.
The Londoner is coming of a fourth-round knockout of Povetkin in March of last year. Povetkin had stunned the boxing world by stopping Whyte with one punch in the fifth round the previous August.
Tyson Fury on Friday weighed in lighter for Dillian Whyte than he did for his last two fights against Deontay Wilder.
Tyson Fury on Friday weighed in at 264.8 pounds for his pay-per-view fight against Dillian Whyte Saturday at Wembley Stadium in London.
That’s the heavyweight champ’s lightest weight since he came in at 254.4 against Otto Wallin three fights ago. He weighed 273 and 277, respectively, for his subsequent knockout victories over Deontay Wilder.
Whyte weighed 253.25, which is slightly heavier than his last two weights against Alexander Povetkin.
The weigh-in was largely uneventful.
After Fury stepped off the scale, the fighters engaged in the obligatory stare down. The champion stood on his toes to emphasize his height advantage (he’s 6-foot-9, Whyte 6-4) and the two exchanged words, which is typical of every weigh-in.
They then expressed the respect they have for one another by shaking hands and exchanging caps. Fury then warmly put his arm around Whyte.
Of course, things won’t be so congenial before an expected 94,000 on Saturday, when Fury (31-0-1, 22 KOs) will be making the second defense of his second reign as a heavyweight titleholder.
He won the WBC belt by stopping Wilder in seven rounds in February 2020 and then KO’d his rival in 11 rounds in their third fight last October, the 2021 Fight of the Year.
Whyte (28-2, 19 KOs) will be making his second attempt to win a major world title. He was stopped in seven rounds by then-beltholder Anthony Joshua in 2015.
The Londoner is coming of a fourth-round knockout of Povetkin in March of last year. Povetkin had stunned the boxing world by stopping Whyte with one punch in the fifth round the previous August.