Deontay Wilder, Tyson Fury Ends In Controversial Draw

The gigantic British challenger overcame two knockdowns late in their 12-round heavyweight title fight Saturday night and fought the hard-hitting Wilder to a controversial split draw before an announced crowd of 17,698 at Staples Center.

The showdown between Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury for the World Boxing Council world heavyweight title ended in a draw after the two went the distance at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Saturday night.

England’s Fury showed a tremendous amount of courage by getting off the canvas both in the ninth and 12th rounds, but he couldn’t take Wilder’s WBC title. Those two knockdowns ultimately cost Fury a victory because only one judge – Canada’s Robert Tapper – scored their fight for Fury (114-112).

One judge, California’s Alejandro Rochin, scored the bout for Wilder (115-111). The lone British judge, Phil Edwards, scored the action even (113-113) in the main event of Showtime Pay-Per-View’s four-fight telecast.

Given how the early rounds went, the 212.4-pound Wilder, whose face appeared to be swelling at that point, figured to need to find a way to pull out a knockout in Round 12 in order to keep his perfect record intact. The Bronze Bomber was able to knock Fury down—but never out.

Wilder may not have done enough to get the win, but he was able to even the score a bit with his late-fight charge. It wound up being a split decision, with the scorecards reading 115-111 Wilder, 115-110 Fury and 113-113.

That draw allowed Wilder to retain his title. Wilder’s career record moves to 40-0-1 with the draw, while Fury is now 27-0-1.