Tyson Fury shocks Wladimir Klitschko to take world heavyweight title

After Tyson Fury had broken down Wladimir Klitschko’s resistance, he broke down in tears, and then broke into song. All week the 27-year-old from Morecambe had promised he would show the world that

Klitschko was too old and too slow for him. And now here he was, the WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight champion of the world, relishing every second of his triumph by singing Aerosmith’s “Don’t Want To Miss A Thing” at the top of his voice.

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In truth it was a messy mauling fight, with too much clinching and not enough clean work. Many of the rounds were close. But the crisper, cleaner work was done by Fury, who deservedly took a unanimous decision 115-112, 115-112, 116‑111.

Some had suspected that the 39-year-old Klitschko was slowing down. But few gave Fury a hope of so conclusively proving it. After all, Klitschko was unbeaten in 22 fights over 11 years and was making the 19th consecutive defence of the title. This was also his 28th world title fight, eclipsing Joe Louis’s old record of 27. Fury had only had 24 fights in his entire career.

But, from the first seconds of the first round, Fury was in Klitschko’s head. Inviting him on while feinting and flicking out the jab. At one point Fury put his hands behind his back and smiled, and asked him provocatively, “Is that it?”

However his mind games had started earlier in the day. After visiting the Esprit Arena in the morning, he had threatened to pull out of the fight because he deemed the ring canvas too soft. Fury’s agent, Asif Vali, called it a “massive health and safety issue,” – somewhat ironic given the nature of the boxing business – while his dad, John, reckoned the canvas was like a trampoline.

The dispute was resolved after two hours of talks when Klitschko’s camp agreed to remove one of the three layers of foam beneath the canvas. But the pre-fight threats and low-level mind games were not finished yet.

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With just 30 minutes to go before the ring walk Fury’s entourage kicked off again, this time because Klitschko had done his wraps with no one from their camp watching. Peter Fury – Tyson’s trainer – again threatened to call the fight off until Klitschko rewrapped his hands. Earlier in the week Fury’s camp had also threatened to pull out over a row about gloves, which was only resolved in Friday’s rules meeting.

There was a definite strategy here. Klitschko is a self-confessed control freak; so Fury was trying to rattle him out of his rhythm. And it was clearly working. The second round followed a similar pattern as the first, with Klitschko stalking but rarely connecting. Fury, while hardly throwing leather, connected with a chopping right before catching Klitschko coming off the ropes with another straight.

In the third, Fury briefly switched from orthodox to southpaw, again trying to present a different look to the champion, inviting him in. Again Klitschko stalked him but appeared reluctant to pull the trigger. After three rounds the lack of action was illustrated by the stats: Fury had landed 17 punches to Klitschko’s 11.

Fury caught the champion with successive jabs at the beginning of the fourth but it was already clear that this was fiendishly hard to score. Did you reward Klitschko for his aggression or Fury for making him miss so often? In the fifth Klitschko was lightly cut under the left eye after a clash of heads, but landed with a good right hand for the first time in the fight. Fury responded with a sharp right of his own, though, and was confident enough to talk to his opponent as the bell sounded.

Through the middle rounds the pattern was similar, with Fury presenting a puzzle that Klitschko was unable to solve. He tried to switch his attack to the body, but with only limited success. It was a desperately messy fight, with lots of cries from the referee Tony Weeks to “stop, stop, stop” as the two men grasped and grappled. Fury had made Klitschko look bad. Now he was making him look worse.

Finally in the ninth round, the action became less measured and more intense as both men landed with big right hands. But Klitschko was still struggling to break through. As his camp told him at the end of the 10th: “You’ve got to get this.”

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In the 11th, the referee deducted Fury a point for repeatedly hitting Klitschko behind the back of the head. Given this was Germany, a country notorious for rewarding the home fighter, some wondered whether it might have given Klitschko renewed hope.

It certainly looked that way in the final round as he rushed forward and appeared to hurt Fury for the first time. The crowd began chanting for Klitschko, but both men were desperately tired. It was messy but manic … and when the scorecards were announced, Fury – the fighting gypsy-Irishman with the glint in his eye – was the one left smiling.

Afterwards Klitschko applauded the crowd, who warmly cheered him back. A clause in his contract means there will be a rematch. But by the time it happens Klitschko will be 40. And it will surely be even harder for him to decipher Fury’s puzzle.