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Tyson Fury could be done with boxing after defending his WBC heavyweight title for the second time against mandatory challenger Dillian Whyte at Wembley Stadium in London, England on Saturday night.
The 33-year-old Fury 32-0-1 (23) knocked out Whyte 28-3 (19) with a single right uppercut at 2:59 of the sixth round. All three of Whyte’s losses have come from uppercuts.
Whyte, 34, surprised many when he came out for the first round in the southpaw stance. While his jab and body work were solid, he frequently squared up and appeared off balance when throwing the left cross.
Fury kept the fight at distance and switched up from orthodox to southpaw as if to show Whyte how it is supposed to be done. Whyte looked slow of foot as he tried to close the distance against Fury, who at 6-foot-9 had a five-inch height advantage over the challenger.
The fight lacked action with Whyte largely unable to get inside to land his heavy blows while Fury was content to box from the outside and use his length and feints to keep Whyte guessing.
The knockout seemingly came out of nowhere. Fury hadn’t thrown an uppercut throughout the fight but clearly knew the opportunity would come. He chose his moment wisely and made it count.
Fury snapped Whyte’s head back with a right uppercut late in the sixth round and gave him a little shove back. Whyte tumbled backwards to the canvas and looked in bad shape. Although he beat the count, first time world title referee Mark Lyson wisely waved off the contest with Whyte reeling around the ring.
The victory may prove to be a swansong for Fury, who was having his first fight in his homeland in almost four years.
“I promised my lovely wife, Paris that after the [Deontay] Wilder three fight that it was it,” Fury said after the fight. “I felt I owed it to every person here at Wembley to go through with this fight. I feel like I have to be a man of my word and say this is it.
“This might be the final curtain for ‘The Gypsy King’. And what a way to go out!”
Retirement now would leave a lot of money on the table with WBA, WBO and IBF champion Oleksandr Usyk 19-0 (13) expected to face Anthony Joshua 24-2 (22) in a rematch in the northern summer and a fight against Fury in the offing late this year.
But Fury has always marched to the beat of his own drum and flagged this may be his last bout before the fight.
If he hangs up the gloves now without facing either Joshua or Usyk, it will leave a lot of fans disappointed. But Fury will always do what Fury wants to do.
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