Here’s Sean Ingle’s verdict from Wembley:
Donald McRae's report
Tyson Fury retained his WBC world heavyweight title by stopping Dillian Whyte brutally and clinically near the end of the sixth round on Saturday night at Wembley Stadium. After a cagey and often ugly bout, which Fury controlled even though both fighters were warned by the referee for some roughhouse brawling, the champion brought the fight to a shuddering conclusion.
Time to wrap up this blog, but we’ll have ringside reaction from Donald McRae and Sean Ingle online very soon. Thanks for joining me. Goodnight.
The BT Sport pundits – Lennox Lewis, Carl Frampton and David Haye – don’t seem convinced by Fury’s retirement talk. Haye still expects Fury to be tempted by a unification bout against either Anthony Joshua or Oleksandr Usyk.
Lewis calls Fury’s performance “a masterclass”, adding “he’s undefeated, most of his fights are historical – he’s definitely up there among the greats.” Frampton says that nobody outside Fury’s camp expected that fight to be so easy.
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Fury, belts draped over his shoulder, treats the crowd to a classic, off-key rendition of American Pie. Whyte is off into the bowels of Wembley after a desperately disappointing night. He never found a way to trouble Fury, seemed to quickly lose energy and patience, and looked beaten even before that clinical final blow.
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Is this Tyson Fury’s last fight? “I promised my lovely wife Paris, after Wilder III, that would be it. But I got offered to fight at Wembley, at home, and I believe I owed my fans this ... now that’s done, I think this could be the final curtain for the Gypsy King. And what a way to go out!” The hints at retirement draw the first boos aimed at Fury all night.
"I'm one of the greatest heavyweights of all time!"
— #FuryWhyte | Saturday | BT Sport Box Office 🥊 (@BTSportBoxing) April 23, 2022
"I think this might be the final curtain for the Gypsy King."@Tyson_Fury 👑#FuryWhyte | BT Sport Box Office ▶️ https://t.co/b0uV32kqC3 pic.twitter.com/Nju6XYoOMj
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Tyson Fury speaks: “Dillian Whyte is a warrior, and I believe he’ll be a world champion – but tonight, he met a warrior. He’s got the heart of a lion, but he’s messing with the best heavyweight on the planet. I think Lennox Lewis would be proud of that right uppercut!”
Mercy me. Tyson Fury was in total control, but when the opportunity came, he took it in brutal style. The punch left Whyte so discombobulated, Fury was essentially able to push him to the floor with a waft of his glove. Whyte is OK, and both fighters embrace after Fury’s victory – he’s still the champ, and still undefeated.
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Tyson Fury retains the WBC world heavyweight title!
After a round of watching and waiting, keeping Whyte at arm’s length, Fury unleashes a ferocious uppercut – and the challenger is down. He gets up, but he’s badly dazed – and the referee calls a halt! Fury wins in the sixth!
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Round six of 12: Barring a dramatic turnaround, Whyte’s best hope is somehow landing a knockout blow. He lurches forward and ends up on the ropes, with Fury offering him some words in his ear. There are a couple of meaty body shots from the challenger, but nothing that shakes Fury ...
Round five of 12: As the commentary team said, that last round was more car-park brawl than world title fight. Still, Fury looked riled – it’s the closest Whyte has come to causing the champ problems. Fury turns up the pace in this round, rocking Whyte back once and reducing him to increasingly wild swings. Fury looks he has another gear, but he’s probably edged every round so far. Unofficial scorecard: Fury 50-45 Whyte
Round four of 12: Whyte’s corner tell him he’s getting closer, but needs to work the body harder when he gets the chance. Whyte clips Fury after the fighters break, Fury responds with a barrage of verbals, and the referee has to have a word with both men. Whyte has a cut over one eye, and there’s a rare mistake from Fury as he misses an opening – but he does rock Whyte on his heels late in the round. Then there’s a tussle on the ropes, and some liquid – presumably thrown from the crowd – splashes on both. This is becoming an ugly, physical battle and the temperature’s rising.
My unofficial scorecard: Fury 40-36 Whyte
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Round three of 12: Whyte has struggled to move his feet early on, and can’t get into Fury’s body with any real menace. Fury locks his opponent up with those long arms, and steps up at the end of a passive round with a couple of clean blows that probably earn him the round.
Unofficial scorecard: Fury 30-27 Whyte
Updated
Round two of 12: Not sure Whyte’s southpaw stance really helped him there – and he’s switched back to orthodox, with Fury switching between the two. Whyte offers a wild swing with the right, missing the target and drawing cheers from the crowd. Fury maintains control, using the jab nicely and forcing Whyte to try a couple of explosive, but unsuccessful combinations.
My unofficial scorecard: Fury 20-18 Whyte
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Round one of 12: Whyte has adopted a southpaw stance – that’s an early surprise, and will give Fury pause. But he lands a decent right-hand, and is otherwise able to keep his distance, Whyte unable to get beyond Fury’s mighty reach. Another right from Fury, a quick exchange of jabs, and that’s the first round.
My unofficial scorecard: Fury 10-9 Whyte
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Seconds out, round one!
The referee wishes both men the best of luck, and the opening bell sounds ...
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Fury still hasn’t emerged – instead, there’s a second, medieval-themed video clip saluting the “Gypsy King” and once again labelled Whyte “a dosser”. Finally, the champ emerges in a red and white robe as the PA plays Notorious BIG’s “Juicy” and Kings of Leon’s “Sex on Fire” back-to-back, like some kind of maverick student disco DJ.
Fury takes a seat on a golden throne, and lifts a glove as fireworks erupt from the roof. Now he’s off, running to the ring. Look, it might be a tiny bit self-indulgent, but it’s a lot of fun.
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Now it’s time for Tyson Fury, fighting in Britain for the first time since 2018. And this is undeniably on a different scale. The opening strains of “American Pie” echo around Wembley – then a video starts up, featuring the actual Don McLean, playing guitar in a boxing ring. It’s intercut with highlights of Fury’s long and storied career – it really does feel like a farewell ...
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Dillian Whyte emerges, howling like a wolf before AC/DC’s “Back in Black” kicks in. He looked a little nervous beforehand, but is enjoying his role as the pantomime villain now that it’s showtime.
Time for the ring walks!
Wembley has a strict curfew for evening events, so we’re getting to the ring walks a little earlier than expected. First out will be the challenger ...
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The final bout on the undercard has just finished – Ekow Essuman has defended his British, IBF European and Commonwealth welterweight belts with a unanimous points decision victory over Darren Tetley. The judges scored it 117-111, 116-112, 116-112 in Essuman’s favour. He extends his unbeaten record to 17-0.
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BT Sport had a quick chat with Tyson Fury in his dressing room – here’s what he had to say: “Feeling good. Rainbows and butterflies! Looking forward to a good night, very relaxed. May the best man win, and the most important thing is that both of us get out the ring in one piece, and go home to our families.”
Dillian Whyte is doing some late prep work – chin-ups and skipping rope, mostly – and keeping himself to himself. The challenger was loudly booed when he was first spotted on the big screen, which is a little surprising.
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Elsewhere on the undercard, London heavyweight David Adeleye scored a fourth-round stoppage against Chris Healey, improving his record to 9-0. Adeleye has a tattoo of Wembley Stadium on his arm, representing his dream, now realised, to fight there. After that, Liverpudlian Nick Ball defeated Isaac Lowe, his opponent’s corner throwing in the towel in the sixth, after a contest that left both men bloodied and bruised.
Much of the buildup this week has been overshadowed by questions about Tyson Fury’s links to Daniel Kinahan. The alleged leader of a notorious drug cartel appeared to hold huge power in boxing – but after the United States imposed sanctions, his influence appears to be waning. The controversial management company MTK Global, founded by Kinahan as MGM in 2012, will cease operations this month. Kinahan, exiled in Dubai, denies all wrongdoing. Read more from Donald McRae:
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It’s been a busy night of action already – even if the undercard for a £25 pay-per-view fight has left some viewers underwhelmed. We have witnessed one Fury in the ring – Tommy Fury, Tyson’s half-brother. Yes, the one from Love Island. Mr Molly-Mae took care of business with a comfortable points win over Daniel Bocianski, and then called out YouTuber and budding pugilist Jake Paul, because this is 2022.
"Get the contract signed you bum! Let's get it done once and for all!" 🤬@tommytntfury wants @jakepaul next! 👀#FuryWhyte | BT Sport Box Office ▶️ https://t.co/b0uV32kqC3 pic.twitter.com/qhA3pnCHwH
— #FuryWhyte | Saturday | BT Sport Box Office 🥊 (@BTSportBoxing) April 23, 2022
Joe Joyce set to fight Joseph Parker in July
Frank Warren has just announced on BT Sport Box Office that a deal is nearly done, and both heavyweight fighters are alongside him, confirming the plan is to meet in July. Joyce, who won Olympic silver in Rio, has a 13-0 record but the wily New Zealander will pose a big test – his only career losses were against Anthony Joshua, and Dillian Whyte.
Don is at Wembley tonight – his press-box seat is pretty far from ringside.
I always feel privileged to cover boxing from ringside. Tonight I'm the back row of a box in a different dimension to the ring. It's strange we ended up here but I am in good company with @seaningle @riathalsam @OllieHolt22 @TrisDixon @MattCBoxingNews Binoculars will be handy... pic.twitter.com/Poa9pyD2In
— Donald McRae (@donaldgmcrae) April 23, 2022
Donald McRae has sat down with both fighters in recent weeks – let’s begin with the challenger, who was typically upfront about his tough upbringing and battle to be respected by the powers-that-be.
“I’m not one of those guys that’s been visualising becoming world champion since I was 10 years old. When I was a little boy my only dream was to stay alive. I had no time for big dreams. A lot of people I knew didn’t make it to their teenage years.”
As for the champ, he reflected on his rollercoaster journey to tonight’s fight.
“I often step back and think about it all. It’s been an amazing trip with so many highs and lows. So much darkness and so many good, learning episodes. I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
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Preamble
As Lennox Lewis, the first winner of an all-British world heavyweight title fight, once said, “adversity makes reaching your goals so much more rewarding.” Frank Bruno, his beaten opponent at a windswept Cardiff Arms Park that night in 1993, was a little more, well, frank. “Boxing is the toughest, loneliest sport in the world.”
Both of tonight’s headline fighters understand where he’s coming from. It has been a long and troubled road to Wembley for both the champion, Tyson Fury and his challenger, Dillian Whyte. Fury has courted controversy and battled demons before completing one of sport’s great comeback stories; he claims that whatever the outcome tonight, it will be the last fight of his career.
While the Gypsy King appears ready to walk out of the ring, Whyte has waited a lifetime to climb into this particular squared circle. The Brixton ‘Body Snatcher’ sees his whole life as a fight – growing up, it was a fight just to survive. In recent years, it has been a long, hard battle to earn a world title shot. Tonight, he will finally get it.
After the two fighters’ paths diverged in 2015, this has been a fight seven years in the making – in truth, much longer than that. Fury is a heavy favourite, but Whyte is more than happy to play the underdog. Both men can be counted on to leave everything out on the canvas, in front of 94,000 spectators. It’s on!
