Ciarán Gallagher reports from Dusseldorf
TYSON FURY SERENADED a 55,000-capacity crowd with a rendition of Aerosmith’s ‘I Don’t Want to Miss A Thing’ at Dusselforf’s Esprit Arena, which he dedicated to his wife Paris, after claiming the heavyweight championship of the world.
Fury, 27 and now undefeated in 25 fights, took a unanimous points win over 39-year-old Wladimir Klitschko (64-4) as the Manchester native, a former Irish heavyweight champion, produced a disciplined display which was completely at odds with his brazed and vocal pre-fight approach.
Fury, who has sometimes boxed as a switch-hitter in previous fights, boxed orthodox in the first round and appeared to have the better of the opening, boxing in a conservative yet effective style and utilising his jab.
The challenger continued to fight in a sensible fashion in the second round, but his posing and confident attitude in the third saw him throw less shots as Klitschko attempted to work an opening with Fury boxing southpaw during that round.
Both continued to fight in a tentative fashion throughout the opening half of the bout and few shots were thrown during the sixth, with Klitschko’s cool and clam approach gradually starting to pay dividends.
Despite the pre-fight bluster and trash talk, which mostly came from Fury, the fight was a relatively disciplined affair with referee Tony Weeks not having to interfere too often.
Klitschko, a Ukrainian born in Kazkhstan who has built his career in Germany, raised a cheer from the ‘home’ support in the ninth round as he showed real intent for the first time in attack but Fury battled back and threw some combinations in reply towards the end of the round.
The champion looked short on ideas in the 10th and 11th rounds with Fury throwing hooks in the latter round, which he was in control of but the challenger suffered a point deduction as Weeks disciplined him for a rabbit punch to the back of Klitschko’s head.
The shackles finally came off in the 12th and final round as both fighters traded, with Klitschko clearly marked up under his left eye.
The challenger took the three titles on offer, with two judges calling it 115-112 and the remaining official scoring it 116-111. This reporter scored the fight 116-112.
Meanwhile, Meath-based Finglas super-featherweight Jono Carroll extended his undefeated record to 9-0 on the undercard of the big Dusseldorf show, defeating Miguel Gonzalez of Honduras on points.
Carroll looked comfortable boxing over 10 rounds for the first time as he recorded his third win of the year.
He has taken them as far as he can.
Doesn’t seem to have the humility to resign. They have to sack him.
Stephen Kenny has well and truly had the last laugh.
Unfair- not sure he realizes he’s working in a results game and City ain’t winning
If he has any respect for himself he will quit but I suppose he’s holding out for a payoff.
It wont get any better with him still as manager.whats going to change,hes a stubborn man,nothing will change only our position in the table.second from bottom soon.thanks john.
It will be interesting to see if the Foras management team are prepared to show leadership here.
While a great admirer of his achievements over the ladt 5 years its obvious the club have stagnated now. The signs were there all last season and sadly are evident for all to see now….
Leadership has to been shown from the board in this situation if John is still adamant in staying on even tho results are in constant decline……
@Michéal Breathnach: foras i feel hasnt helped this year by cutting the budget as much as they did.how can we compete with the rest of the league losing alot of our players .we were a strong club doing well year in year out.now we are fighting to stay in the league,yes john caulfield is a big problem with hisnegative football,but foras isnt helping either.they are pulling us back now,i know people are afraid of it over what happened before,but we need proper investment in the club.
@troy holland: You are right about foras, they have to take responsibility for their part in this mess. I would love to know what their strategic plan is for the next couple of seasons, that’s if they have one. Its a dangerous game they are playing and so far it looks like they are on the wrong path….
@Michéal Breathnach: yes your right .i was wondering was i the only one thinking this.the season was lost even before it started.
Good times are gone now, foras have decided that we will no longer challenge for the League and Cup, which is fine if thats the way they want to run the club but gates will drop massively , won’t sell any merchandise and zero atmosphere at games. Wonder why Foras are so quiet at the moment? Will they publickly back the present management team? Strange…..
Looks like that question wasn’t so unfair after all.
He was stubborn when we were winning and hes still the same now. No change with him. None at all.
I feel the players have lost a huge amount of appetite and those who have come in, predominantly are no where near the quality needed.
However I do feel that a few of the younger players are real jems.
A huge reset button this season is being pushed. I hope there is a long term plan in place