Tyson Fury beat Deontay Wilder by seventh-round stoppage to win the WBC world heavyweight championship in Las Vegas on this day in 2020.
Fourteen months on from his controversial draw with Wilder in their first bout – when he outboxed the champion only for two knockdowns to deny him the famous green belt – Fury had vowed to take the fight to the American.
He did just that, flooring his opponent twice and completely dominating the action before Wilder’s corner threw in the towel to save the despairing, bewildered champion from more punishment.
A right hand which landed near Wilder’s left ear saw the American go down heavily in the third and a right to the head and left hook to the body in the fifth had a tired Wilder down again.
Fury said: “Big shoutout to Deontay Wilder. He came here tonight, he manned up and really did show the heart of a champion.
“I hit him with a clean right hand and dropped him and he got back up and battled on into round seven. He is a warrior, he will be back, he will be a champion again.
“But I will say, the king has returned to the top.”
The rivalry concluded with a third fight the following year when it was Fury’s turn to take punishment, getting knocked out in the fourth round, only to rise off the canvas and produce a storming comeback and retain his belts.
The ‘Gypsy King’ has since continued his winning record with comfortable victories over Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora, with a fight against Oleksandr Usyk lined up in 2023.
