Tyson Fury set his sights on a lucrative rematch with Deontay Wilder after excelling in his first fight in Las Vegas to stop Tom Schwarz in only two rounds.
The 30-year-old furthered his reputation as the worldโs finest heavyweight at the MGM Grand by repeatedly hurting his German opponent from the opening bell, dropping him in the second round before forcing his corner to throw in the towel after two minutes and fifty seconds.
For all of his natural talent Fury has rarely been a destructive fighter, but at a time when he has the attention of a wider audience in the US and when his rewarding contract with ESPN commits him to fighting there he proved almost as entertaining as in Decemberโs draw with Wilder.
Fury revealed that he is scheduled to fight again on either September 21 or October 5 in New York, and that the rematch with dangerous WBC champion Wilder will then become his priority in the first half of 2020 after he felt he should have got the verdict the first time around.
He wore the US stars and stripes to and in the ring as he ensured his popularity continued to grow, and he explained: โDeontay Wilder is coming. This fight is happening. There were three horses in the heavyweight division; now thereโs two.
โI already beat him once so Iโll beat him again, and heโs going to get a fully match-fit, sharp Tyson Fury. Itโs the biggest fight in world boxing, and the biggest weโll see for the next few years. It doesnโt get any bigger.
โItโll be brilliant to fight in New York (before then). I wanted to show a few things to the American public, to introduce myself properly.
โI showed a little bit of speed, boxing skill, my ability to slip and slide out of the way of punches and my ability to finish, which is important.
โIโm more active than Iโve ever been in my career, apart from the first year. Iโve always wanted to stay active, and Iโm finally getting the opportunity to.
โI feel better with more weight on me, I put on an extra 10 or 11lbs from my last fight and I felt bigger and stronger for it.โ
When the fight with the 25-year-old, previously-undefeated Schwarz was made, Fury revealed fighting in Vegas had been a lifelong ambition, and he said: โThis was my coming-out party. You saw me fight in December but I had to lose 147lbs for that fight. I wasnโt at my strongest.
โThis time I had enough training and was strong, fit and ready to put on a show. My next few fights are definitely going to be in America. I wanted to put on a statement and a show and have fun.
โI wasnโt punch-perfect, although it was a good performance I still got hit with one punch, which is one too many times. Weโre going to go back and get in the gym as soon as we get back on Tuesday.
โWe saw a British fighter (Anthony Joshua) travel to America a couple of weeks ago and he didnโt look like he wanted to be in there. This was Tyson Fury in Las Vegas; the biggest thing thatโs happened in my career so far.
โDriving over in the car with my wife, I said โI think weโve made it, Paris. Weโre headlining in Vegas, this is itโ. I enjoyed every minute of it.โ