TYSON FURY declined to look to the future after his remarkable triumph over Deontay Wilder in Las Vegas. Instead he will relish the moment.
“I’m basking in this glory,” he said. “This has been a well, well deserved victory and I’m going to enjoy it, not think about anything else. All the way through people were trying to overlook Deontay Wilder but not for one moment did I say that I’m going overlook him and look at somebody else because if I would have looked past Wilder tonight, he’d have been sat here and not me.
“Before I start thinking about fighting other men, I’m going to bask in this victory because tonight was one my greatest wins, I got off the floor to do it. I’m the big dog in the division. I’m probably one of the heaviest heavyweight champions in history tonight, 277lbs, and you know I was fit, I felt strong in there and I felt good. We’ll just see what today brings and tomorrow as well.”
He can look to the present and his place in the sport today. “I can only beat whoever’s in my era and I’ve done that all my life. I don’t like competing with other fighters from the past because it’s fantasy, it’s not reality and I wouldn’t like to disrespect any of the former champions, a long, long line of champions at heavyweight. Even from when heavyweights were like 185lbs till today, I never disrespect any of them and I respect the sport whole heartedly and let’s just say I’m the lineal champion of my era. I can only be the best of my day and I’ve done that. I’m the best fighter in my era. I’m a generational fighter. I actually feel sorry for all these guys that have to fight me,” Fury said. “I feel sorry for them because they’re fighting the fighter of their generation.
“Even the guys from today like Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk and everybody else, they’re all good champions but I’m too sharp and too clever. I place myself right on top of the pile. Any man born I believe I’ve got a really good chancing of beating him. There is always a way of beating Tyson Fury and I’ve always said it, very, very clearly. Just got to knock me spark out. And if you can’t do that I’ll win and that’s it. Like I say I can only be the best of my era and I’m definitely that.”
Wilder managed to be more dangerous than ever, yet Fury prevailed. “He improved. He worked on his boxing and stuff. It was a different fight. It was a much different fight from fight two and a much different fight from fight one. He came in real heavy tonight, like 238lbs, and I believe that helped him, he was definitely hitting solid,” he said.
But Fury still felt he received no respect from Wilder afterwards. “I thought we fought it all out there, all the allegations that have been made towards me throughout the build up to this fight. We fought like two warriors in there and I went over to shake his hand and say well done. It was like, ‘I don’t respect you.’ How can you say I cheated when you know in your own heart and your whole team knows you just got beat fair and square? He’s just a sore loser. In boxing I’m sure he’s not the first one and won’t be the last one. But I’ve acted like a gentleman throughout my career and that’s all I can do as a man,” Fury said. “The me and Wilder saga is done now, done for good. It was definitely a historic trilogy, for sure swung both ways and both fighters had the opportunity to seize the moment and it was just that I showed the initiative and dug deep and I wanted it more. Because at the end of the day when it comes down that sort of fight, it’s who’s willing to push further and I wasn’t willing to let it go to the scorecards, I was definitely trying for a knockout.”
“Wilder’s a very tough guy. He’s got heart, heart to keep going but I think one of the ringside doctors or one of the commission people got in the ring at one stage to check he was okay. I wasn’t sure what was going on, I thought they might have pulled him out there, but he took a lot of punishment tonight Deontay Wilder and that puts a lot of mileage on the clock. So did I, I took a lot of punishment as well. Some good shots, and I got put over and I got back up. It was just a great fight all in all,” Fury continued. “He put up a good fight and that’s what I’m here for. I wasn’t here to blow someone over in one round. I’ve travelled the world for so many years to find challenges and he gave me a real worthy challenge tonight for sure.”
That is perhaps an understatement. Read more on the epic contest here.
