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Newly crowned world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury rattled the boxing world by becoming the first man in over a decade to defeat Wladimir Klitschko.
A pro-Klitschko crowd in Germany sat in stunned silence for most of the 12-round championship bout, as Fury out-hustled Klitschko to snatch all four of the Ukrainian’s titles and improve his own perfect record to 25-0.
The 27-year-old was better from the start. He was quicker, landed more punches, and connected with the most impactful blows of the entire bout.
It was hardly a riveting fight, but Fury did enough to author arguably the sport’s biggest upsets of 2015, earning a unanimous point victory with scores of 115-112, 115-112, 116-111.
Fury’s historic championship capture represents a turning point in heavyweight boxing, for better or worse.
It’s a change applauded by most boxing fans, who have long wished for a new champion. For many, Klitschko’s reign of dominance was largely met with indifference.
While nobody could dispute that a nine-and-a-half year run as champ with 19 successful title defences was impressive, Klitschko was often criticised for his tedious boxing style and lording over a weak crop of heavies.
For the sport of boxing, getting a new king in the marquee division is a perfect scenario.
Fury is a different breed of fighter than Klitschko. He has been compared to a carnival barker outside of the roped ring, spewing insults left and right to drum up interest in his fight, but has also backed up every single word once the bell sounds.
Standing six-foot-nine and weighing 112 kilos, the British boxer overwhelms opponents with a fast jab and swift counters, finishing almost three-quarters of his fights by knockout.
After Fury’s shocking win, WBC heavyweight champ Deontay Wilder took to social media to call out the new unified champ.
“I see you @Tyson_Fury… #ImComingForYou,” he tweeted. Wilder followed it up by declaring himself the new king of the heavyweight castle.
I see you @Tyson_Fury…. #ImComingForYou
— Deontay Wilder (@BronzeBomber) November 28, 2015
He added, “I’m officially the best heavyweight champ of the world! Haters can acknowledge it or look foolish trying to deny it.”
I'M OFFICIALLY THE BEST HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMP OF THE WORLD! Haters can acknowledge it or look foolish trying to deny it. pic.twitter.com/5XpjDf4o8P
— Deontay Wilder (@BronzeBomber) November 29, 2015
Tweeters were ecstatic, pondering the humongous championship unification bout, but it seems that Fury versus Wilder won’t come to fruition – at least, not in the immediate future.
Klitschko confirmed after the fight that he had a rematch clause written into the bout agreement and plans to execute it.
The former champ, who turns 40 in May, deserves his opportunity at redemption, but would need to make some major adjustments to reclaim the WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO titles he lost.
His rotten performance is underlined by the punch stats. Klitschko landed 52 of 231 overall punches and 18 of 69 power shots. That’s an all-time low for Klitschko, whose previous worst for a 12 rounder was 109 landed punches against David Haye.
That’s not to discredit Klitschko. This is one awful performance in a Hall of Fame-worthy career, but it seems Father Time may have caught up with him.
Fury is by no means a speedy puncher, but he ran circles around the Ukrainian, who seemingly grew older and older with every minute that ticked by.
Klitschko even acknowledged the speed different following his fourth career loss, saying, “I prepared well, but my speed was missing tonight and I didn’t expect the speed from him.”
Whether or not Fury goes on to have a storied reign as champ is unclear, but one thing’s for sure – the British brawler has made history, forcing a true changing of the guard moment and giving boxing’s glamor division a much-needed shot in the arm.