Deontay Wilder vs Tyson Fury II: the boxing world reacts to the Englishman’s scintillating TKO win
- Boxers take to Twitter after Fury’s stunning performance earns him a heavyweight world championship
- Billy Joe Saunders accurately predicts the seventh-round win; NBA star LeBron James agrees with Wilder’s corner
Tyson Fury’s masterclass against undefeated heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder on Sunday inevitably caused an explosion of surprise and “I told you so” reactions throughout social media.
Billy Joe Saunders, the British WBO super-middleweight champion, had one of the most entertaining reactions as he posted a video of him prior to the fight predicting the correct outcome and round. His caption simply read “7th”.
UFC pundit Todd Grisham also predicted a Fury knockout weeks ago, reminding his followers with a simple shrug emoji.
Saunders also appeared to have made a side-bet with promoter Eddie Hearn. Hearn, who manages Fury’s British heavyweight rival Anthony Joshua, had tweeted:
“Wow unbelievable from Fury! Fair play and well done [coaches] Sugar Hill and Andy Lee on first class game plan.”
To which Saunders replied, “That 50 k still stands”. Hearn replied with an OK emoji.
In a different response to a fan saying Hearn would not “let Joshua anywhere near Tyson” after that performance, Hearn teased a future Fury vs Joshua fight: “Of course I am! And [Joshua] wants it bad..this fight is gonna and has to happen this year!”
Several reactions touched on the Wilder corner’s decision to throw in the towel. The American was clearly upset at the fight being waved off, saying post-fight that he wished his team would let him “go out on his shield” despite clearly losing the fight.
NBA star LeBron James tweeted: “His corner did him a FAVOR straight up!! No questions about it. Equilibrium was super off and he may have been concussed too!”
Four-division world champion boxer Canelo Alvarez agreed with the outcome of the fight, saying in Spanish that it was a good decision from the referee.
Alvarez then had to clarify that he saw the towel being thrown in after fans reminded him the fight was technically not waved off due to the referee’s discretion. “I just saw it...very good,” he said.
Legendary retired boxer George Foreman also believed the fight was handled adequately and the right man had his arm raised.
The former two-time heavyweight champion tweeted: “Good call, why take a beating all night. A New Champ! Never saw This Coming? Wilder take the title in grand stile / night Friends.”
Fellow boxers celebrated Fury – born and raised in Manchester, England – after witnessing another classic win for British boxing.
“Have you seen anything like it? Tyson Fury is just absolutely awesome!!!” tweeted Carl Froch, boxing analyst and former world champion.
“He’s some man,” Fury’s former coach, Ben Davison, tweeted along with several laughing emojis.
“World class performance. Congratulations Tyson Fury!!!!” tweeted British pro boxer Luke Campbell.
“Tyson Fury congratulations went out and dominated the fight great performance,” tweeted former Olympic boxer Nicola Adams.
Multiple-time women’s world champion Claressa Shields, a huge fan of American compatriot Wilder, was clearly aggravated as the rounds increasingly went in Fury’s favour.
“Wtf man ...” tweeted Shields. “Damn congrats Tyson Fury and [Deontay Wilder] you are still champ! And a hell of a fighter”.
Finally, boxing coach Dave Coldwell perfectly summed up Fury’s trademark post-win stadium singalong. Fury routinely talked about his faith, thanked his sponsors, and chose to sing Don McLean’s classic “American Pie”.
“Only Tyson Fury could get Bob Arum & Frank Warren stood next to each other singing American Pie! Just capping off one of the most amazing nights I’ve watched in my time in boxing,” he tweeted.
