Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury promised a heavyweight classic and both delivered. Unfortunately, neither man was able to walk out as the winner.
In the main event of a packed house at the Staples Center, Wilder and Fury fought to a split draw (115-111 Wilder, 114-112 Fury, 113-113) with Fightful giving Fury the edge with a 114-112 score on its live coverage page. As a result of the draw, Wilder retains his WBC heavyweight world title.
Wilder had struggled throughout the entire fight to connect on any of his power punches fans have been accustomed to seeing. Fury's agility and head movement was reminiscent to when he defeated Wladimir Klitschko in 2015 to win the unified WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight titles and was the key for him throughout the fight. Even so, Fury, like all of Wilder's opponents, succumbed to the champion's power and was knocked down twice in the fight.
The first knockdown came in the ninth round of the fight as Wilder pressured Fury to the corner and landed a combination of punches that ended with a left hand to the side of the head which knocked down Fury. Fury was able to barely beat the count and went on to outbox Fury in the 10th and 11th rounds. Wilder made the 12th round arguably the most exciting one of the evening as Wilder landed a stiff right hand that knocked down Fury and nearly knocked him out. Fury miraculously got up and continued to look for a way to box his way to a win, but it did not come tonight.
It was Wilder's eighth title defense, but the first one to go the distance and it is the first time Wilder has a fight end in a draw. This is also Fury's first draw as a pro as he had emerged victorious in all 27 of his fights prior to this one.
Both men appeared interested in a rematch as there is a rematch clause in the fight contract. Whether or not the rematch actually comes is a different story.
Fightful has a post-show podcast recapping the entire night of action, which includes two other world title fights and former title challenger Luis Ortiz in action. The podcast can be seen in the video above.