Tyson Fury has revealed that he felt ‘bulletproof’ after getting up from a heavy knockdown at the hands of Deontay Wilder that will live on as one of boxing’s most breath-taking moments.
After almost three years of inactivity, Fury returned to the ring with wins over Sefer Seferi and Francesco Pianeta in 2018 before accepting a fight with the then WBC heavyweight champion – and one of the most feared punchers in boxing history – Deontay Wilder.
In a remarkable comeback, ‘The Gypsy King’ dominated the fight, seeming to win almost every round until he was dropped in the ninth.
Going into the final round, the Brit seemed sure to have pulled off the upset until he was met with a straight-right, left-hook combination that appeared to knock him out cold. To the amazement of those in attendance and watching around the world, he miraculously rose to his feet.
In an interview with TNT Sports, Fury recalled those career-defining seconds.
“I was out cold. I opened my eyes and I saw the referee going ‘four, five…’ and I thought ‘f***, I have been knocked down here, I need to get up’ and that was it. I didn’t want to rush up, because I didn’t know where my legs were going to be, I’d just been chinned properly and if you jump up and then fall over again it’ll get stopped, so I took every bit of time [possible].”
“The referee told us in the changing room that he believes in counting the champion out, so if one of us goes down he will count to ten and if you are not up, then you are out. I got up and I was bulletproof that night. It wasn’t my time to lose, there was a bigger plan for me.”
Astonishingly, Fury appeared to win the remainder of the round, but was controversially denied of the title, with the judges ruling the bout as a draw.