Tyson Fury made quick work of overmatched Dillian Whyte on Saturday, landing a violent right upper cut in the sixth round for a technical knockout to retain his World Boxing Council and lineal heavyweight championships in front of an estimated 94,000 at raucous Wembley Stadium in London.
The stoppage came at 2:59 in the sixth round after Fury (32-0-1, 23 knockouts) landed two left jabs before the shot to Whyte’s jaw that stunned the fellow Brit. Fury then shoved Whyte (28-3, 19 KOs), who tumbled backward to the mat, much to the delight of the packed venue.
Fury won his third straight fight via knockout and improved to 8-0-1 in lineal heavyweight championship fights in his first bout since beating Deontay Wilder in October in the final leg of their memorable trilogy.
Shortly before Fury took the microphone in the ring to sing his customary “American Pie,” he was asked about a possible retirement from boxing. The fan favorite had indicated in the leadup to the bout this fight would be his last.
“I owed it to the fans,” Fury said, drawing a thunderous applause from the hometown fans in the highest-attended boxing match in British history. “I think this is it. This might be the last fight for the Gypsy King.”
As for his future, Fury did invite UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou into the ring after the fight to discuss a potential cross-promotion hybrid bout with special rules combining boxing and mixed martial arts.
Fury was guaranteed a reported $29.5 million for Saturday’s fight, with an additional $4 million-plus winner’s bonus. Whyte, meantime, was assured $7.5 million.
Fury out-landed Whyte, 76-29, according to CompuBox statistics, and connected on 31 percent of his 243 punches thrown compared to 17 percent for his opponent.
“I am overwhelmed by the support,” Fury said. “I can’t believe more than 94,000 men and women came to see me perform.” (WashingtonPost)