Tyson Fury upsets Wladimir Klitschko to win heavyweight championship
DUSSELDORF, Germany - It wasn't just by being the first man for 11 years to beat Wladimir Klitschko that Tyson Fury proved he is far from being a typical heavyweight.
Fury produced a major upset by defeating Klitschko on points at ESPRIT Arena on Saturday night, claiming the world heavyweight championship in the process, with both the victory and the celebration being far from routine.
Over the course of 12 rounds, Fury gave Klitschko all he could handle and more, dominating the contest in a way that the giant Ukrainian has never experienced before.
Then, he celebrated his triumph by serenading his wife Paris and the crowd with a rendition of Aerosmith's love ballad "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing," just as he had promised before the bout.
It has been quite a few days for Fury, who learned on Friday that he is to become a father for a third time and controlled the fight throughout with a sense of belief and movement that few had predicted.
For Klitschko looked like one of the most unbeatable fighters in boxing, right up until the night when he was outdueled, outmuscled and outpointed by Fury, the giant challenger from England, who took his career record to 25-0.
"I was bigger, stronger, fitter and faster," Fury said, and he was right on all counts. Perhaps even more significantly, he was younger, and at 27 has the boxing world at his feet. For Klitschko, now 39, the future is unclear. A rematch is available if he wants it, and despite being bullish about that possibility, though, it would also be no surprise if he wandered off into retirement.
"It was not a good night for me," Klitschko said. "I couldn't find the right punches to land and the right distance. (This is) to be continued. But I can't complain. Tyson was difficult for me and I couldn't land the right shots that I wanted to. He won the fight."
And so boxing has a new heavyweight champion, with Fury having grabbed Klitschko's WBA Super, IBF and WBO belts and set himself up for some serious paydays, rematch or otherwise.
It may be just what the division needs, a young, interesting, quirky and newsworthy star who can back up the extraordinary volume of trash talk he spouts with his fists.
Some title reigns come crashing to a halt, some feel like they will go on forever. Others, like Klitschko's surrender of his trio of heavyweight championship belts, simply fade away when you least expect it.
Klitschko imperiously ruled the division for 11 years, taking on all-comers and dispatching them with technical efficiency and ease, but was sometimes, unfairly, derided for being boring.
Fury is certainly not that, with no one, perhaps even himself, seeming to have much idea of what will come next. There have been bizarre and political rants, press conference appearances in a Batman suit and other unpredictable behavior that led some question whether his skills were also a gimmick.
Saturday proved the folly of that line of thinking.
The heavyweights have been slumbering for far too long. Fury is loud enough, different enough and talented enough, to reenergize the division where the big men live.