Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk go head-to-head on Saturday night to crown a first undisputed heavyweight champion of the four-belt era as well as try to defend their respective undefeated records. With just days to go until the epic showdown, we at Boxing Social looked back on the five most recent instances of heavyweight title bouts where someone’s ‘0’ had to go.
Joseph Parker (23-0) vs Hughie Fury (20-0) – 23rd September 2017
Eleven months after defeating Andy Ruiz Jr for the vacant WBO title, Joseph Parker left Australasia to fight as a heavyweight champion for the first time, making a second defence of his belt against a 23-year-old Hughie Fury, cousin of Tyson, in Manchester.
Fury’s wins up until that point were not truly worthy of a title shot, with a win over Andrii Rudenko the standout performance of his résumé.
Meanwhile, Parker was hardly known to be a force in the division, but the New Zealander managed to do enough to claim a majority-decision win through his work as the aggressor in what was an uneventful and forgettable contest that did little to convince fans that Parker was a threat to Anthony Joshua.
Deontay Wilder (39-0) vs Luis Ortiz (28-0) – 3rd March 2018
Despite 39 fights to his name, Deontay Wilder stepped through the ropes to face Luis Ortiz having knocked out every opponent that he had faced, fresh from a stoppage win in his rematch with Bermane Stiverne – who was the only man to have lasted the distance with ‘The Bronze Bomber’ up until that point.
However, Luis Ortiz was hardly pillow-fisted either, winning by knockout in 24 of his 28 outings, meaning the battle had all the makings of a classic heavyweight punch-up.
Wilder and Ortiz certainly delivered on those expectations as Ortiz gave him his toughest ever test, taking the early rounds by avoiding the American’s power shots.
In the fifth-round Wilder got his breakthrough with a trademark straight right-hand, followed up by a second to drop the wobbly-legged Cuban. Ortiz roared back and buzzed Wilder more than once in the rounds that followed, but in the tenth-round the inevitable knockout blows came, as the challenger was dropped twice and the referee called an end to the thrilling affair.
Anthony Joshua (20-0) vs Joseph Parker (24-0) – 31st March 2018
Just six months after his underwhelming performance on British shores against Hughie Fury, Joseph Parker returned to the United Kingdom to take on the true poster boy of British boxing and arguably of the sport as a whole in a unification bout against Anthony Joshua.
In a composed display, ‘AJ’ proved that he is more than just a knockout artist as he outboxed Parker to a unanimous-decision. Although, regardless of the defeat, Parker’s stock rose as a result, as he became the first fighter to take Joshua the distance and showed his granite chin, eating some of Joshua’s best shots that had rendered each of his previous dance-partner’s unconscious.
This victory, occurring in the same month as Wilder’s over Ortiz, appeared the set-up to the ultimate heavyweight clash – an undisputed title scrap between merciless duo, transatlantic rivals and undefeated champions – Joshua versus Wilder, but sadly it never came.
Deontay Wilder (40-0) vs. Tyson Fury (27-0) – 1st December 2018
Later that year, Deontay Wilder would face a Briton for the first time in his career but it was not the one that fans had in mind.
Instead, Tyson Fury had returned from an almost three year spell of inactivity and a serious weight gain to sore two victories over Sefer Seferi and Franceso Pianeta, before unbelievably daring to face one of the division’s greatest ever punchers and challenge for the only world title which he had never held.
Just as he had done to Wladimir Klitschko three years prior, Fury proved the bookmaker’s to be wrong and outsmarted his opponent, clearly winning the majority of the rounds.
Although, his ring rust caught up with him this time around, being dropped in the ninth-round before hitting the deck in the twelfth with his eyes sent rolling to the back of his head.
Remarkably, Fury was able to return to his feet and even win the remainder of the round by applying front-footed pressure, before being left heartbroken by the scorecards – which harshly determined the fight to be a draw.
Deontay Wilder (42-0-1) vs. Tyson Fury (29-0-1) II – 22nd February 2020
Some fourteen months on, Fury finally got his chance at vengeance and faced off with Wilder once again, this time with a trick up his sleeve.
From the knowledge he had gained in the final-round of their first encounter, Fury made the decision to ditch trainer Ben Davison and appoint SugarHill Steward, who taught him the aggressive ‘Kronk’ Style of fighting.
To the amazement of both Wilder and the fans, the usually mobile and elusive Fury marched forward and fought fire with fire, outgunning a generational puncher and using his 6’9” stature to full effect.
‘The Gypsy King’ sent Wilder to the canvas in rounds three and five ending his most impressive win by stoppage in the seventh, capping off a performance that will live long in the memory of British boxing fans.
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