Fury Outpoints Klitschko To Lift Heavyweight Crown

By Jake Donovan

At no point during the promotion or even fight week did Tyson Fury ever allow Wladimir Klitschko the type of control normally enjoyed by the long-reigning heavyweight champion. 

The same proved true once the opening bell rang for their title fight - and a new king was crowned as a result.

It was never pretty nor did it boast much action, but Fury landed a career-defining moment in unseating Klitschko after scoring a shocking 12-round unanimous decision win Saturday evening in Dusseldorf, Germany. Scores of 115-112 (twice) and 116-111 came in for Fury, who never had to do much more than outwork a lethargic and befuddled Klitschko, even on the road. 

Fury was a ball of energy througout fight week. His team challenged K2 Promotions to provide suitable gloves for the fight, twice threatening to pull out if a better version of Klitschko's desired brand didn't arrive in time for the fight. They also squabbled over the foamy ring surface as well as the manner in which Klitschko's hands were wrapped. 

Wins were scored across the board for the 6'9" traveler from England even before the opening bell. Once it came time to fight, a boxing match ultimately broke out but one in which Fury handled himself well while Klitschko barely offered as much as a glimpse as to how he was able to retain at least one heavyweight belt since April '06. 

Punch stat numbers were laughable over the course of the evening, but Fury's performance demanded the utmost respect. Constant movement and providing the subtle differences whenver the two were at close quarters proved effective in the eyes of the three neutral ringside judges. 

Not only was Klitschko forced to contend with an early deficit, but also with a cut underneath his left eye. The wound came courtesy of an inadvertant clash of heads, but still literally left its mark on Klitschko, who was either too tense to get going or simply befuddled by his opponent's strategy.

Conversely, Fury was having the time of his life in his first world title challenge. 

The night marked the 28th time that Klitschko entered a title fight, but it was Fury who fought like a man leaving with the sport's most storied prize possession in tow. On the rare occasions Klitschko connected with a big shot upstairs, Fury almost always had a response, if not immediately then in the very same round. 

Adversity surfaced in the latter stages of the fight for the visting challenger, who was warned in round nine by referee Tony Weeks for rabbit punching. Fury managed to tap the back of Klitschko's head (as well as his rearend) whenever a clinch was initiated by the defending champion, though none of the shots thrown with force or mean intentions. 

The warning actually played to Fury's favor, as such a sequence where he would've likely launched a rabbit punch instead produced the best shot of the night to that point. Klitschko attempted a clinch and spun out, expecting time to be called. He was instead met with a left hook by a surprisingly composed Fury, who was well in command by that point.

As much was not lost on Klitschko's corner, with head trainer and former fringe heavyweight contender Johnathon Banks declaring prior to the championship rounds that a knockout was needed in order to win. It never seemed to sink in for Klitschko, who either couldn't or simply chose not to let his hands hands go until the 12th and final round. 

Fury managed to avoid getting clipped with anything major, although separate left hooks and right hand shots had him briefly stunned. It wasn't enough to change the course of the fight, or make a dent on the judges' scorecards.

A longtime working theory in boxing was that visting fighters need to score a knockout in order to win in Germany. Fury prayed to his god at fight's end to not get robbed of what would be the biggest win of his career and perhaps the biggest upset of 2015. 

His prayers were answered when the final scores made it official that the heavyweight championship officially changed hands.

Fury improves to 25-0 (18KOs) with the win, just his second of 2015 but none bigger in the heavyweight division in recent years. He is just the second Brit in the post-Lennox Lewis era to own a piece of the heavyweight crown, and the first Brit since Lewis to lay claim to the lineal heavyweight championship. 

So overcome by the moment was Fury that he broke out into a song at fight's end, offering his best possible rendition of Aerosmith's "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" after the scores were announced before breaking down in tears as he embraced his wife in-ring. 

As for Klitschko, it's the end of a lenghty run and perhaps the end of an era as well. The loss disrupts one of the longest reigns in heavyweight title fight history, having made 18 consecutive defenses heading into Saturday, including a 12-round win over Bryant Jennings in his most previous performance in April. 

In Fury, he faced his sixth unbeaten opponent in the span of seven fights, yet had no answers for his younger and taller challenger. As a result, he is now without a major title for the first time in nearly 10 years in falling to 64-4 (53KOs). Just months shy of his 40th birthday, the question now remains whether or not he can reach back far enough to find a way to begin a third title reign as well as reclaim the World (lineal) heavyweight championship. 

The bout aired live on RTL in Germany, Sky Sports Box Office in the United Kingdom and on HBO in the United States.