Former undisputed heavyweight champion Tyson Fury was a very interested observer, as he watched Deontay Wilder recover from a seventh round scare to retain his World Boxing Council heavyweight title on Saturday.
Wilder was in serious trouble during the seventh round, but managed to stay on his feet and recovered.
At the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Wilder knocked down Luis Ortiz three times, finishing off the previously unbeaten challenger with a right uppercut as the referee stopped the fight with 55 seconds left in the 10th round.
The 32-year-old Wilder improved to 40-0 with 39 knockouts as he made the seventh defence of his heavyweight title.
Wilder knocked Ortiz down in the fifth and twice in the final round.
Fury, inactive since shocking Wladimir Klitschko for the WBO, IBO, WBA, IBF titles in November of 2015, is currently training for a ring return in the coming months.
A few months after that win, Fury traveled down to the United States and confronted Wilder in the aftermath of the WBC champion's knockout of Artur Szpilka at Barclays.
It appeared the two boxers were on a collision course, but the fight never happened. Fury was battling depression and eventually lost all of his titles due to inactivity and substance abuse.
He recently reclaimed his license to box and cleared up an outstanding issue with UK-Anti-Doping, who claim the boxer tested positive for a banned substance in early 2015.
After watching Wilder's most recent win, Fury is convinced that he can stop Wilder inside the distance.
“It was a great fight to say the least — well worth staying up for. There’s no doubt in my mind that I can beat Deontay Wilder," Fury said.
“Everything about him, makes it easy for me. I once made a promise to him that I’d knock him out any time, any place, anywhere.
“And after last night, I already know, that is 100% true. If he ever fights me, I’ll knock him out.”