Five fights on a Saturday that carried over the course of the day with some crazy routes to get to the final destinations, which saw almost all the favorites earn victories.I'll be writing about the other cards later and will focus on the Las Vegas event here.
In the most important fight to the mainstream observer, Tyson Fury crushed Tom Schwarz in two rounds in Las Vegas to retain his "lineal" heavyweight championship.
Fury showed the power that he has been a bit reluctant to let loose in the past (Fury has never scored even a knockdown against a top twenty level opponent) to knockdown Schwarz in the second, rip open a nasty gash over his nose and impressively end the bout with a strong flurry that drove Schwarz into a corner before the corner attempted to toss the towel in, but was beaten to the punch by referee Kenny Bayless.
The enhancement match did what it was intended to do, which was introduce Fury to the American audience, but proved little for Fury.
Here are my personal thoughts on Fury.
He seems like a very nice person away from the hype and seems to be one of the more gracious winners in the game since his return to the ring from his personal issues.
Fury also might be one of the slicker fighters in the heavyweight division in a long time as far as avoiding punches and making an opponent look bad and he has skills in the ring that men of his size may have never possessed in the history of the ring.
Fury's defensive game is the type that hasn't been seen in the division since the days of Chris Byrd, who was a much smaller fighter and wasn't a natural heavyweight, let alone be 6'9 250!
I'm still not sure about his chin.
Yes, anyone, Deontay Wilder hits can go out and give Fury bouquets for surviving two knockdowns against Wilder, but I still can't forget his knockdown against former cruiserweight champion Steve Cunningham.
The survival against Wilder goes a long way in proving his mettle, but fighters that walk such a tightrope eventually run into someone that finishes the job.
He's just not that entertaining in the ring.
Full credit for finishing off Tom Schwarz early rather than prolonging viewers (and that of Schwarz) agony with seven or eight lopsided rounds, but that's usually not Fury's M.O and his lack of power can make him less than entertaining at times.
Those power questions exist because he's never scored a knockdown against a contender.
That isn't the be all and end all as he's proven he can outbox champions such as Wladimir Klitschko and Deontay Wilder, but it can make his fights more than tedious if the opponent stops attacking as in the Klitschko fight.
It's the lack of power that could prove to make Fury a less than fun champion in the ring.
He's definitely fun outside the ring.
The post-fight singing and the pre-fight entrances come off more fun than others that seem so choreographed and it mostly seems in good fun, although I could have done without Fury calling Schwarz a "bum" in pre-fight press conferences.
Calling top fighters names is reasonable because everyone knows it's not true and fighters are playing head games, enhancement talents like Schwarz (and the fans paying to watch) know this already- we don't need to have it drummed home.
Where do I rank Tyson Fury among the heavyweights?
Currently, number one.
I had Anthony Joshua ranked first before his shocking loss to Andy Ruiz and I can't rank Ruiz above Fury yet.
I thought Fury defeated Deontay Wilder despite the official draw and his win over Wladimir Klitschko as dull as it was, means more on a resume' than Wilder's best win- the late round KO of Luis Ortiz.
Tyson Fury might be the most unusual heavyweight champion in a long time with the unusual combination of his boxing skills and size without a big punch to go with the package.
Fury has plenty to prove with really one official good win, but for now, I'd rate him the best of the bunch.
In the semi-final from Las Vegas, Jesse Hart made his initial venture into the light heavyweight division a winning one with a mild upset over veteran contender Sullivan Barrera via unanimous decision.
Both fighters were hurt at various times in an entertaining, yet sloppy battle with Hart being credited with an eighth-round knockdown that was either a flash knockdown or a knockdown of questionable quality depending on your perspective.
Hart moves on to another fight in the loaded and just as importantly controlled by Top Rank, light heavyweight division, while the aging 37-year-old Barrera may have reached the end of his days as a top ten contender and might be reduced to a gatekeeper in the division.
I scored Hart a 96-93 winner.
I'll be writing about the other three fights over the weekend in my next post.
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