LAS VEGAS: Tyson Fury got up from two fourth-round knockdowns and stopped Deontay Wilder in the 11th round Saturday night, retaining his WBC title in a thrilling conclusion to a superlative heavyweight trilogy.
Fury (31-0-1, 22 KOs) finished Wilder for the second straight time in their three bouts, but only after a wild back-and-forth evening featuring five combined knockdowns.
“It was a great fight,” Fury said. “It was worthy of any trilogy in the history of the sport. He’s a top fighter, and he gave me a real (test) tonight.”
Wilder was knocked down in the third round and appeared to be on his way out, but he improbably rallied to knock down Fury twice in the final minutes of the fourth.
Wilder (42-2-1) absorbed enormous punishment and appeared to be physically drained for much of the bout, but the veteran champion showed his toughness while still throwing power shots on weary legs.
Fury knocked down Wilder again with a concussive right hand midway through the 10th, but Wilder stunned Fury in the final seconds of the round.
Fury finally finished it in the 11th, sending Wilder face-first to the canvas with a chopping right hand fired from high in the air. Fury climbed onto the ropes in weary celebration before a frenzied crowd of 15,820 at T-Mobile Arena on the south end of the Las Vegas Strip.
“Don’t ever doubt me when the chips are down,” Fury said. “I can always deliver.”
Fury then broke into a rendition of “Walking in Memphis,” in keeping with his post-fight tradition of serenading his crowds.
The fight likely concluded one of the most memorable rivalries in recent boxing history, a trilogy featuring nine combined knockdowns and two remarkable displays of pugilistic tenacity. A trilogy is a rarity in the fractured modern sport, but Fury and Wilder brought out the best in each other through a series spanning nearly three calendar years.
They met first in late 2018 in downtown Los Angeles, where Wilder knocked down Fury twice in the late rounds of an excellent fight. The second knockdown in the 12th round left Fury flat on his back and motionless while Wilder celebrated, but Fury improbably rose and reached the bell in a bout judged a split draw.
The second bout was in Las Vegas in February 2020, and Fury’s dominance was clear. The British champ battered Wilder until the seventh round, when Wilder’s corner threw in the towel on a one-sided victory and Fury claimed Wilder’s WBC title belt.
In this climactic third meeting, Wilder opened the first round with a strong jab and a good game plan, but appeared to tire early when he didn’t hurt Fury early.
In the final minute of the third, Fury stunned Wilder with a shot and then escaped a clinch to land a two-punch combination that put Wilder down to his knees. Fury battered Wilder again with the crowd on its feet, but Wilder made it to the bell.
Fury appeared to be in control until late in the fourth, when Wilder landed a powerful right hand squarely to the top of Fury’s head. Fury staggered and eventually fell to the canvas, only to get up and then be put down again moments later amid the crowd’s stunned roars.
Fury made it to the fourth-round bell, and both fighters landed impossibly big shots without a knockdown in the fifth and sixth. Fury hurt Wilder in the seventh with a series of punches that sent Wilder sprawling back against the ropes.
Fury hurt a visibly exhausted Wilder again in the eighth with two huge shots, and the ringside doctor examined Wilder before allowing the fight to continue into the ninth.
Fury’s devastating right hand swept Wilder’s legs out from under him in the 10th, but Wilder finished the round, even hurting Fury late.
It ended with one more right hand from close range. Wilder reached for the ropes on his way down, but landed facedown with his eyes glassy.
The bout was another loss for Wilder, but a validation of the former US Olympian’s impressive toughness, as well as his determination to get this third fight even after the one-sided nature of their second meeting.
Last year, Wilder handled his first defeat since the 2008 Beijing Olympics in bizarre fashion. He fired Mark Breland, his longtime trainer who threw in the towel, and then accused him of spiking his water bottle with a muscle relaxant. Wilder also claimed Fury had illegal gloves, among a litany of far-fetched claims that left Fury — no stranger to ridiculous behavior himself — ridiculing Wilder for his lack of professionalism.
“I beat him three times,” Fury said after the finale. “I tried to show him respect, and he wouldn’t give it back.”
But Wilder also exercised the rematch clause in his contract to reclaim his belt, and an arbitrator ruled in his favor after Fury attempted to book a showdown with fellow British heavyweight Anthony Joshua. Fury resignedly agreed to complete the trilogy, but made it clear he expected to stop Wilder again.
It happened, but only after much more drama than even Fury could have imagined.
Tyson Fury stops Deontay Wilder in 11th in another heavyweight thriller
https://arab.news/ywfxq
Tyson Fury stops Deontay Wilder in 11th in another heavyweight thriller
- Fury finishes Wilder for the second straight time in their three bouts
- Fight likely concluded one of the most memorable rivalries in recent boxing history
‘Finally!’: Esports Nations Cup will provide new experiences for gamers and fans
- Ralf Reichert, CEO of Esports World Cup Foundation, spoke to Arab News about the new tournament that will pit countries against each other for the first time
RIYADH: With the inaugural Esports Nations Cup set for Riyadh in November, Ralf Reichert, CEO of the Esports World Cup Foundation, spoke to Arab News about the new tournament that will pit countries against each other for the first time.
How do you see the Nations Cup impacting the esports landscape in Saudi Arabia?
The Esports Nations Cup can be a meaningful catalyst for Saudi esports for two reasons. It expands the audience by adding national pride as a simple, universal entry point, and it accelerates ecosystem building by making talent pathways and country level coordination real and visible.
The Nations Cup adds a new layer next to club competition through national teams and national narratives. Club esports is the cultural backbone of the sport, but national teams widen the target group immediately because people may not follow a specific club or title, yet they will show up for their flag, in the arena and online.
It also strengthens the local ecosystem because a credible Nations Cup requires alignment across publishers, clubs, and development structures such as coaching, scouting, and youth programs. That coordination is where long-term impact comes from.
The Esports World Cup Foundation is an independent, nonprofit organization that designs and operates leading global esports competitions.
Saudi Arabia is the original host and the originator of this platform, and we are building the Nations Cup in close partnership here in Riyadh, with the long-term ambition for it to travel and become a truly global competition over time.
Did the success of the Esports World Cup play a role in the idea of the Nations Cup?
Esports grew up as a digital-first sport. From day one it was borderless, and clubs became the cultural backbone because they’re not defined by geography. Fans followed skill, story, and community across regions.
That’s why a Nations Cup isn’t the default format in esports. It’s a different layer, one that only works when the club ecosystem is stable and when you can operate cross-title competition at the highest level without compromising integrity.
The Esports World Cup proved that layer: multi-game competition at global scale, built with publishers, clubs, and players, with the operational credibility to align calendars, uphold consistent standards, and create a connected story across weeks.
Once that platform existed, adding national representation became realistic, not as EWC 2.0, but as a complementary format that brings identity and pride on top of a strong club foundation.
What has been the reaction in the gaming world to this new competition?
The reaction has been: Finally! If you do it properly.
Fans love the clarity of the story. National teams are instantly understandable, even for people who don’t follow a specific title or club. Players feel the difference too.
Representing your country is a distinct kind of pressure and pride, and it creates a new career milestone that hasn’t existed in esports in a consistent, credible way.
Clubs have been engaged from the start, because they are the backbone of esports and we are treating them that way. The Nations Cup is designed to sit next to club competition, not on top of it, with clear rules around eligibility, scheduling, and player release, and with incentives that keep the ecosystem aligned.
Publishers have reacted the way you want serious partners to react: supportive but focused on execution. They care about integrity, calendar alignment, and long-term sustainability. So the feedback isn’t make it louder, it’s make it durable.
Will we see many high-profile players from different clubs playing under the same flag, or will teams be based mostly on established clubs?
You will absolutely see high-profile players from different clubs coming together under the same flag, and that is one of the defining features of national team competition.
The Nations Cup is designed to avoid simply replicating club rosters under a national banner. The goal is real national representation, not convenience.
To reinforce that, we apply a maximum number of players per club on any national roster. That rule ensures the strongest eligible talent can still be selected, while preventing a national team from effectively becoming a club team in disguise.
Just like in traditional sports, rivals at the club level often become teammates when they represent their country. That creates new stories, new chemistry, and a different kind of pressure. It also changes how fans experience the competition, because you are no longer just watching a roster, you are watching a nation.
Selection is based on eligibility and competitive merit, not club affiliation. However, no more than two thirds of the national roster can come from the same club, providing the ability to still feature a core club line-up, if that is truly the best option, while creating exciting new teams that fans don’t get to see in club competitions.
The result can be pathways for new talents to showcase themselves next to established players or all-star rosters that are formed to represent their nation. Through this rule we will not only see new rivalries between national teams, but also some rivalries between players on the same club suddenly competing for spots on the national roster.
Will this new format bring a bigger audience to esports, including fans who may not follow clubs closely?
Yes, and that is one of the biggest opportunities.
Club esports creates the deepest fandom and the strongest stories, but it naturally speaks first to gaming and esports fans who already follow teams, leagues, and titles closely.
National teams widen the target group immediately. They are instantly understandable, they tap into national pride, and they give casual viewers a clear reason to care from the first match. You do not need to know every roster to know who you support when your country is playing.
That is how this format can bring new audiences into esports, while still respecting and strengthening the club ecosystem that built the sport in the first place.
What can fans expect that they haven’t seen before?
Fans can expect a layer of emotion and identity that club esports cannot create in the same way.
You will see flags and anthems, real national rivalries, and star players becoming teammates under one badge, fighting for something bigger than a title.
And you will get moments that stick. First appearances for countries, unexpected heroes, and matchups that return year after year and start to feel like true international classics.
