Fury-Wilder: First bout was one of biggest heavyweight contests involving a UK boxer
Written by News on 23/02/2020
Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder enter the ring for their much-anticipated rematch in the early hours of Sunday in Las Vegas.
Their first fight on 1 December 2018 which ended in a controversial draw was one of the biggest heavyweight contests involving a British boxer.
Sky News takes a look at some of the others on the list.
Henry Cooper vs Muhammad Ali, 1963
Total purse N/A
“You got a Queen, you need a King,” the irrepressible Ali, then known by his original name of Cassius Clay, told British boxing fans ahead of the London bout.
But Cooper’s left hook, or ‘Enry’s ‘Ammer put the unbeaten 21-year-old down in the fourth round of their first fight and the contest ended in the fifth.
Click on the picture below to find out who won.
Frank Bruno vs Mike Tyson, 1989
Total purse $10.6m (£8.2m)
The British fighter was unfancied but popular; his opponent viewed as dangerous and divisive.
Some pundits worried Frank would be seriously hurt at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, but he shocked the American in the first round.
Click below to find out who won.
Frank Bruno vs Mike Tyson, 1996
Total purse c. $20m (£15.4m)
No one was worried about Bruno’s safety seven years later at the same venue.
‘Iron Mike’ had rusted by then and had served a prison sentence for sexual assault on a teenage beauty queen, while Bruno was the newly-crowned World Boxing Council (WBC) champion.
Did Frank get his revenge? Click below.
Lennox Lewis vs Evander Holyfield, March 1999
Total purse $30m (£23m)
Lewis was born in London but won gold for Canada (where he moved aged 12) at the 1988 Olympics.
Tall, strong and tactical, the big names of the ’90s avoided him and he had to wait until 1999 before getting a shot at ‘The Real Deal’ in Madison Square Garden in New York.
The fight is considered one of the greatest robberies in the sport, but who got away with it?
Lennox Lewis vs Evander Holyfield, November 1999
Total purse $30m (£23m)
Four belts were up for grabs in the rematch in Las Vegas eight months later.
Like the first contest, the fight went the full 12 rounds.
The first half of the bout was scored even by the judges. Click below to find out who came out on top by the end.
Lennox Lewis vs Hasim Rahman, 2001
Lewis purse $7m (£5.4m), Rahman unknown
Rahman was a 20-1 outsider against the reigning undisputed world champion in their fight in South Africa.
Altitude training paid off for one of them, however.
Click below to find out who.
Lennox Lewis vs Mike Tyson, 2002
Total purse $34m (£26.3m)
Both men were past their prime by the time they finally met in Memphis.
Nevada had refused Tyson a licence to fight after he bit Lewis’ leg at a pre-fight news conference brawl.
Lewis brought four belts into the fight. Click below to find out if he still had them afterwards.
David Haye vs Nikolai Valuev, 2009
Total purse N/A
It was billed as David against Goliath when Londoner Haye went up against the 7ft (2.1m) ‘Russian Giant’ in Germany.
Haye weighed almost 45kg (100lbs) less than his opponent.
Click below to find out if the extra weight helped or hindered Valuev.
Anthony Joshua vs Vladimir Klitschko, 2017
Total purse $30m (£5.4m)
The London 2012 Olympic champion had earned the right to take on the younger Klitschko, with three belts on the line, at Wembley.
A cracking contest that featured four knockdowns see-sawed both ways, before one man emerged on top.
Click below to see the winner.
Tyson Fury vs Deontay Wilder, 2018
Total purse $7m (£23m)
Wilder, ‘The Bronze Bomber’ from Alabama, had his WBC belt on the line in their first fight in Los Angeles.
But Manchester’s ‘Gypsy King’ threw more punches than his braggadocious American opponent.
Click below to see if he got what he deserved.
(c) Sky News 2020: Fury-Wilder: First bout was one of biggest heavyweight contests involving a UK boxer
