December 3, 2024

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Tyson Fury vs. Dillian Whyte results: Gypsy King dominates to secure 6th-round KO and pledges retirement

Tyson Fury vs. Dillian Whyte results: Gypsy King dominates to secure 6th-round KO and pledges retirement

 

WEMBLEY STADIUM, LONDON — Tyson Fury retained his WBC heavyweight title with a perfect right uppercut after six one-sided rounds against Dillian Whyte.

Fury (32-0-1) received a hero’s welcome from a record 94,000 Wembley crowd after five consecutive fights in the United States, including his career-defining trilogy with Deontay Wilder.

The 33-year-old pledged to retire after facing Whyte and, if that remains the case, he was able to enjoy a trouble-free victory lap against a challenger who failed to get anywhere near solving heavyweight boxing’s most complex puzzle.

An anticipated all-action barnburner did not materialise but the finish was immaculate when it came in the sixth, as Fury uncorked a beauty of a shot on the point of Whyte’s chin. He shoved his opponent back to fashion space for a follow-up punch but the Brixton man crumpled to the canvas.

A divisive figure for so much of his career, Fury’s prolonged ring entrance – soundtracked variously by Don McLean’s “American Pie” and “Sex on Fire” by Kings of Leon as he perched atop a throne – was a moment of pure validation.

Whyte unfurled a surprise by starting the fight in a southpaw stance, which briefly perplexed Fury but he found his range with a couple of clean rights to win the round.

A legitimate top-five heavyweight in the world who has led the WBC rankings since November 2017, Whyte quickly became aware of what an impossible proposition his former sparring partner has become. In rounds two and three he took aim and missed with wild right hands and was picked off at mid-range.

Referee Mark Lyson gave both fighters a talking to in the fifth – Whyte for use of the head and Fury for punching on the break. But the Bodysnatcher’s attempts at roughhousing backfired as he ended the session with damage around his right eye.

So often a dangerous menace of a heavyweight, Whyte had been reduced to trudging dutifully forward in straight lines and was being picked off in the fifth.

Fury was landing cleanly but not with any particular velocity. All that changed with the picture-book finish to the fight and, possibly, one of the great heavyweight careers of modern times.

Fury the master of all styles

In the build-up, Fury spoke of having something akin to a tear-up with Whyte but it quickly became apparent that was never on the cards. The disheartening thing for any Fury opponent is that you have precisely the fight that he decides is going to take place. He and Deontay Wilder went hell for leather because Fury wanted to impose himself, to beat up the bully.

Against Whyte, a more adept fighter at close quarters and in the clinches, what was the point? Instead, he put him on the end of crisp long shots in the centre of the ring, measuring and lining him up for the glorious finishing salvo.

Whyte’s long vigil not worth the wait

Whyte had been a major inconvenience, in victory or defeat, for every man he has faced in his career. Those qualities ensured he navigated a long road – 1,634 days as the WBC’s number one contender, to be precise – to reach his moment of destiny at something close to the peak of his powers.

But for what? If the action had gone on any longer, then it would probably have only got more demoralising. Fury was on another level but that is true of him against any heavyweight today. Whyte could still be one of the main beneficiaries of his conqueror’s restated intention to retire.

Final curtain for Fury?

Retirement talk from any boxer is to be taken with a heavy grain of salt, but if this is the last we see of Fury, what a way to go. The uppercut to close the show was the kind all fighters dream of, a shot any heavyweight from history would be delighted to call their own.

If that is where the Tyson Fury conversation belongs now, in the pantheon, then he stacks up pretty well on account of his Wladimir Klitschko and Wilder high watermarks alone.

You can imagine him being an inconvenience for any fighter in the division’s storied past. As for the current crop, it would be fascinating to see the lavishly-skilled Oleksandr Usyk crack the Fury code, while Anthony Joshua would ensure another blockbuster Wembley night. Fury would start both fights as a heavy favourite – an indication in itself that he has nothing left to prove.

Or Ngannou next for Fury the ‘entertainer’?

There is, of course, a caveat to that retirement talk, with Fury’s commitment to the quiet life at home in Morecambe maybe not set in stone. “I will not rule out exhibitions – get some of that Floyd Mayweather money. I’m an entertainer,” he said at the post-fight news conference. “Big Francis Ngannou is on my list.” UFC heavyweight champion Ngannou took a break from complaining about the apparent paucity of his pay packets from Dana White to appear in the ring at Wembley and tell Fury – to the hero of the hour’s delight – that: “I want to find out who is the baddest motherf***** on the planet.”

Elsewhere, Fury noted that he needs to speak to “Vince [McMahon] and the boys” about another WWE appearance, either at Summerslam 2022 or when the organisation lands in Cardiff for its first UK stadium show since 1992. As you might expect from the sort of exhibitionist who conducted his post-fight press conference wearing only a pair of “Rumble In The Jungle” underpants, he’s unlikely to slope off unnoticed.

Tyson Fury vs. Dillian Whyte result

10:42p.m. BST/5:42 p.m. ET: The respectful pre-fight tone remains as Fury praises Whyte. Says he believes Whyte can one day be a world champion, but tonight he ran into one of the greatest heavyweights of all time. Fury then praises his trainer SugarHill Steward as the best in world boxing.

Tyson Fury knocks out Dillian Whtye in round six to retain WBC and The Ring heavyweight titles

Round 6: More meaty jabs for Whyte to swallow. It’s an unforgiving diet. He needs something akin to a Hail Mary punch to get through, but those advances are so easy for a man of Fury’s skill to pick off. Whyte lands to the body, but BANG!!!! Dillian is down and it’s all over!!!!! The perfect uppercut from Fury concludes a punch-perfect performance.

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Round 5: Fighters having their strengths turned against them can be heartbreaking and Fury is landing more frequently to the body than Whyte here. He’s into an easy rhythm which might not please a baying crowd but will get the job done at a canter. Whyte is coming forward in straight lines and seemed to be wobbled by a Fury one-two. This is one-way traffic.

SN unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Fury (50-45 Fury)

Round 4: Referee Mark Lyson has to get involved, warning Whyte for following in with his head and Fury for hitting on the break. The fighters exchange words. Is the love-in over? Whyte lands a left hook to momentarily discomfort Fury. Whyte gets a right through to Fury midriff but he’s cut! A nick around his right eye. Fury gets another talking to from the referee but Whyte making this round a bit more of a brawl hasn’t exactly panned out and he cops a left hook on the bell. Fury walks back to his corner with his fist raised.

SN unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Fury (40-36 Fury)

Round 3: Fury lands to the body to set up a nice combination upstairs and again Whyte is just where the champion wants him to be, on the end of peppering shots. Fury isn’t doing much but he’s putting rounds in his back pocket.

SN unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Fury (30-27 Fury)

Round 2: Now Fury starts a round southpaw and Whyte is orthodox. Dillian throws a couple of wild, winging right hands without success and he was in an unhelpful mid-range to take a few Fury shots through guard.

SN unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Fury (20-18 Fury)

Round 1: Well, well. Fury boxed all of this week’s open workout as a southpaw, but it is Whyte who comes out fighting left handed. He looks jerky and uncomfortable but it does seem to throw Fury a bit. Whyte aims a couple of his bombs to the body but a pair of Fury rights get through upstairs, which is enough to shade the session.

SN unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Fury

10:10p.m. BST/5:10 p.m. ET: Introductions done. Rapturous applause for Fury. We are ready to rumble, the fighters are getting their final instructions and we’re going round-by-round.

10:05p.m. BST/5:05 p.m. ET: Fury jumps on a throne decked out in the flag of St George, to the strains of Sex On Fire by Kings of Leon, which may or may not be a dragon-slaying reference. Fireworks pepper the sky above Wembley. The champ is very much here.

10:00p.m. BST/5:00 p.m. ET: An outsider for most of his career, this is a truly valedictory moment for Fury, as the 90,000-plus crowd lap up a video montage of his ups and downs. Whyte doing his best to keep warm. Should probably have brought some pads out.

9:58p.m. BST/4:58 p.m. ET: That’s said, ROARS for Fury. Who’s walking to American Pie. A great night for 1970s FM radio standards.

9:56p.m. BST/4:56 p.m. ET: As is customary, Whyte comes out to AC/DC’s Back In BlackAbsolute banger in fairness. A few boos here and there for the Bodysnatcher, but hardly a hostile welcome. We have two pretty popular heavyweights here and Whyte is enjoying a prolonged, swaggering entrance to the ring.

9:50 p.m. BST/4:50 p.m. ET: Here’s MC Jimmy Lennon Jr, announcing Whyte to the ring. A smattering of boos for the challenger.

9:48 p.m. BST/4:48 p.m. ET: With an honourable mention the brilliantly livewire Nick Ball, that undercard wasn’t any great shakes, but no one cares right now. Freed from Desire, Sweet Caroline – Wembley is bouncing and the men of the hour will be with us shortly.

Ekow Essuman wins unanimous decision over Darren Tetley

That looked competitive at halfway but Essuman dominated thereafter, cruising to a unanimous decision win by margins of 117-111, 116-112 (twice) win to retain his belts.

Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time for Tyson Fury vs. Dillian Whyte.

9:30 p.m. BST/4:30 p.m. ET: We’re into the championship rounds and Essuman is looking comfortable. Tetley enjoyed some success working off his left lead during the first half of the fight but the champion appears to be banking the rounds now.

9:15 p.m. BST/4:15 p.m. ET: We’re halfway through Essuman vs. Tetley and British heavyweight hero Frank Bruno has arrived at ringside. Bruno, of course, won the belt Fury and Whyte will contest tonight when he outpointed Oliver McCall at the old Wembley in 1995.

9:05 p.m. BST/4:05 p.m. ET: Competitive back and forth this. Essuman has seven stoppages in his unblemished 16-fight resume, while nine of Tetley’s 21 wins have come by way of stoppage. In short, best to bed in for 12 rounds here.

8:50 p.m. BST/3:50 p.m. ET: Champion Ekow Essuman and Darren Tetley are in the ring for their British and Commonwealth welterweight title fight. This is your chief support – Fury vs. Whyte up next!

8:45 p.m. BST/3:45 p.m. ET: FIGHT ANNOUNCED! Nice little bit of heavyweight news before the big one as Joseph Parker and Joe Joyce confirm with promoter Frank Warren that they will meet in July. Parker has won six in a row since dropping a razor thin decision to Whyte in 2018, while Joyce is 13-0 and stopped teak-tough Carlos Takam last time out.

8:38 p.m. BST/3:38 p.m. ETAin’t No Stopping Us Now, David Haye’s old ringwalk anthem is booming around Wembley. John Fury will be fuming!

Nick Ball stops Issac Lowe in round six

Gruesome fight for Lowe and gruesome finish. Ball spun his foe around into the neutral corner and Lowe half had his back turned as he copped for a brutal left hand. The towel mercifully came in. That was a battering and a statement win for Ball, who moves to 15-0 – positioning himself well for some exciting fights within Britain’s stacked featherweight division.

8:27 p.m. BST/3:27 p.m. ET: Four rounds in and Lowe has a serious fight on his hands, having been dropped by a left hook. He’s also sporting a horrible cut around the left eye. Ball has been an absolutely relentless blur of energy so far. It will be hard to maintain this pace for 12 rounds, but the state of Lowe’s eye means he might not have to.

8:07 p.m. BST/3:07 p.m. ET: Adeleye got the job done before halfway, so that’s 2-0 for Team Fury this evening. The next man falling under that banner, Issac Lowe, is up next but faces a much tougher task on paper over the course of 12 featherweight rounds for the WBC silver title against unbeaten Liverpudlian Nick Ball.

7:55 p.m. BST/2:55 p.m. ET: Fury embraced his little brother backstage, took his top off and had a little shakedown. As has been the case all week, the Gypsy King looks absurdly relaxed. Tyson’s sparring partner David Adeleye is in the ring now and has been unable to shift Chris Healey through two rounds. In fairness, there is an awful lot of the generously proportioned Healey to shift.

Tommy Fury scores knockdown, wins unanimous decision vs. Daniel Bocianski

Bocianski was bloodied around the eyes but lasted until the final bell, with Fury chalking up the family’s first win of the night via a margin of 60-54.

7:32 p.m. BST/2:32 p.m. ET: Big right hand from Tommy Fury decks Bocianski in the fifth and he’d like to close the show in style in this final round.

7:20 p.m. BST/2:20 p.m. ET: Fury started to put some big shots together in round two to draw appreciation from the crowd. There’s a bigger roar as his big brother appears on the stadium screens though. Tyson Fury has arrived and is here for business.

7:12 p.m. BST/2:12 p.m. ET: Very warm reception for Fury the younger from those who are in their seats already. Bocianski’s 10-1 record – all compiled back in his native Poland – does represent a step-up for the former reality TV star.

7:05 p.m. BST/2:05 p.m. ET: Tommy Fury is gloved and ready to go, getting some final instructions from his father John, who hasn’t been short of giving anyone his opinion this week. Guess there’s no need to stop now.

7:00 p.m. BST/2:00 p.m. ET: As is customary with a big heavyweight bout, there’s been plenty of intrigue over how each man tipped the scales yesterday. At 18st 12lbs, Fury was lighter than his previous two outings against Wilder – does this mean he’s ready to dance again? Whyte came in heavier than his rematch against Alexander Povetkin at 18st 1lbs – probably an advisable strategy as he prepares to deal with having 6ft 9ins of Gypsy King leaning on him for portions of this evening. Fury was able to do pretty much what he wanted with Deontay Wilder up close; Whyte promises to be a very different proposition in that regard.

6:40 p.m. BST/1:40 p.m. ET: Barney-Smith eased to a points win and we’ll soon have the first outing this evening for one of the Fury clan, with Tommy Fury in action at light-heavyweight against Daniel Bocianski. We’ve been joined in the media seats by former Tyson Fury opponent Otto Wallin, who ruefully reported he’d already been mistaken for former Fury opponent Tom Schwarz. It doesn’t sound like it was the first time!

6:20 p.m. BST/1:20 p.m. ET: The punters are already filing into Wembley. Tonight’s 94,000 crowd will be a European record for a boxing event. The undercard is underway, with teenage featherweight prospect Royston Barney-Smith enjoying his second workout in the paid ranks.

6:00 p.m. BST/1:00 p.m. ET: Hello and welcome to The Sporting News’ live coverage from Wembley Stadium of Tyson Fury vs. Dillian Whyte, for the WBC heavyweight championship of the world.

How to watch Tyson Fury vs. Dillian Whyte

  • US TV channel: ESPN PPV
  • UK TV channel: BT Sport Box Office
  • US live stream: ESPN+ PPV
  • UK live stream: BT Sport Box Office

The Fury vs. Whyte main card will air on ESPN+ pay-per-view. It can be live-streamed through ESPN+. Fans in the U.S. can also watch the fight in select theaters.

For those in the U.K., the fight will air via BT Sport Box Office.

MORE: Sign up to watch the Tyson Fury vs. Dillian Whyte, exclusively on ESPN+

What time does Tyson Fury vs. Dillian Whyte start?

  • Date: Saturday, April 23
  • Undercard: 6:00 p.m. BST/1:00 p.m. ET
  • Main card: 7:00 p.m. BST/2:00 p.m. ET
  • Main event: 10:00 p.m BST/5:00 p.m. ET (approximately)

Fury and Whyte will make their way to the ring no later than 10 p.m. local time, although expect a full-on stadium extravaganza for the ring walks that will push the start time a little later than that.

Fury vs. Whyte fight card

  • Tyson Fury (c) vs. Dillian Whyte – for Fury’s WBC heavyweight title
  • Nick Ball bt. Issac Lowe TKO (6/12) to win WBC silver featherweight title
  • Ekow Essuman bt. Darren Tetley UD to retain his British and Commonwealth welterweight titles
  • David Adeleye bt. Chris Healey TKO (4/8) heavyweight contest
  • Tommy Fury bt. Daniel Bocianski PTS (6) – light-heavyweight contest

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