Tyson Fury: Klitschko, the Wilder trilogy and 94,000 at Wembley | Ultimate Boxing Reunion

Why fans still care

TYSON FURY beat the long reigning heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko in Germany, stepped away from boxing, and came back to fight Deontay Wilder three times. The third of those fights was The Ring’s Fight of the Year for 2021.

He is a big man who moves like a smaller one, and few heavyweights have been put down as often and still got up to win. He is also one of the biggest draws in the sport. His fight with Dillian Whyte filled Wembley Stadium with 94,000 people.

Early life

He was born on 12 August 1988 in Wythenshawe, Manchester, to parents John and Amber, both from the Irish Traveller community. As an amateur he boxed for clubs in Belfast and Wythenshawe. According to Boxing News, he won bronze at the 2006 AIBA World Youth Championships and the 2008 ABA super heavyweight title, and was passed over for the 2008 Olympics in favour of David Price.

The early fights

He turned professional in 2008 with promoter Mick Hennessy, and stopped Béla Gyöngyösi in round 1 of his debut in Nottingham. In September 2009 he beat John McDermott for the English title. On 23 July 2011 he beat Dereck Chisora on a unanimous decision for the British and Commonwealth titles, and on 29 November 2014 Chisora retired in round 10 of their rematch, giving Fury the European title.

Career chapters

1. 2008Wins the ABA title and turns professional
2. 2011Beats Dereck Chisora for the British and Commonwealth titles
3. 2014Beats Chisora again for the European title
4. 2015Beats Wladimir Klitschko for four world titles
5. 2016Gives up his world titles
6. 2018Returns against Sefer Seferi, then draws with Deontay Wilder
7. 2020Stops Wilder for the WBC title
8. 2021Knocks out Wilder in their third fight
9. 2022Stops Dillian Whyte at Wembley, then beats Chisora a third time
10. 2023Beats Francis Ngannou on a split decision
11. 2024Loses twice to Oleksandr Usyk
12. 2025Announces his retirement
13. 2026Returns and beats Arslanbek Makhmudov and Mariusz Wach

Wladimir Klitschko 28 November 2015

On 28 November 2015 at the Esprit Arena in Düsseldorf, before 55,000, he challenged Wladimir Klitschko for the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, IBO and The Ring titles. He switched to southpaw in round 3, kept Klitschko guessing, and was docked a point in round 11 for hitting behind the head. The judges scored it 115 to 112, 115 to 112 and 116 to 111 for Fury, who moved to 25 and 0. The Ring named him its Fighter of the Year and wrote that the win “breathed energy into a lifeless division”.

Out of the ring 2016 and 2017

The rematch with Klitschko never happened. In 2016 he pulled out, gave up his world titles and spoke publicly about his mental health. In December 2017 UK Anti Doping (UKAD) announced a two year ban, backdated to December 2015, over samples taken in February 2015.

Deontay Wilder 2018 to 2021

With new trainer Ben Davison he started a comeback camp in Marbella, and on 9 June 2018 in Manchester he beat Sefer Seferi, who retired after round 4, in his first fight in more than 1,000 days.

On 1 December 2018 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles he challenged the WBC champion Deontay Wilder. Fury outlanded him, 84 punches to 71 by CompuBox’s count, but Wilder put him down in rounds 9 and 12. In round 12 he got up from a heavy knockdown to finish the fight. The judges split three ways and it was a draw.

For the rematch on 22 February 2020 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena he came in at 273 lb with a new trainer, SugarHill Steward, and a new plan: go forward. A right hand put Wilder down in round 3 and a left to the body dropped him again in round 5. Wilder’s corner threw in the towel at 1:39 of round 7, and Fury was the WBC champion.

The third fight, on 9 October 2021 at T-Mobile Arena, had five knockdowns. Fury dropped Wilder in round 3, was put down twice himself in round 4, and finished it with a knockout at 1:10 of round 11. “It was worthy of any trilogy in the history of the sport,” he said afterwards. The Ring named it Fight of the Year and Round of the Year.

Wembley and Riyadh 2022 to 2024

On 23 April 2022 at Wembley Stadium, before 94,000, a right uppercut stopped Dillian Whyte in round 6. He said in the ring that it might be the final curtain, but he was back six months later and stopped Chisora in round 10 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

On 28 October 2023 in Riyadh he was put down in round 3 by the former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, Who’s Who number 5 in · Ultimate Fighter Reunion and won a split decision.

On 18 May 2024 at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh he met Oleksandr Usyk with every major belt at stake. Usyk forced a standing count in round 9 and won a split decision, 115 to 112 and 114 to 113, with the third judge scoring it 114 to 113 for Fury. It was Fury’s first professional loss, and Usyk became the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis, Who’s Who number 29. In the rematch on 21 December 2024 Usyk won 116 to 112 on all three cards. “I thought I won it by at least three rounds,” Fury said.

Retirement and return 2025 and 2026

On 13 January 2025 he announced his retirement with a record of 34 wins, 2 losses and a draw. It did not last. On 11 April 2026 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, before about 60,000, he beat Arslanbek Makhmudov on a unanimous decision. On 24 July 2026 in Pattaya, Thailand, Mariusz Wach retired after round 7, in a fight with no broadcast and the ticket money going to a local charity.

Style, technique and the corner

How he fought

He is listed as orthodox, but he switches stance freely. He turned southpaw in round 3 against Klitschko, and Lennox Lewis, Who’s Who number 29 said in 2024 that he “boxes from south paw orthodox”. For years he used his height and movement to make opponents miss. Under SugarHill Steward he changed, walking forward behind the jab and the right hand, in what Steward called the Kronk style.

His best punches have been the right hand that dropped Wilder in 2020, the left to the body that followed, and the right uppercut that finished Whyte. And he gets up. He rose from knockdowns against Wilder in 2018 and 2021 and against Ngannou in 2023.

The corner

His uncle Peter Fury trained him from 2012 to 2016. Ben Davison led the comeback from 2017 to 2019, and SugarHill Steward has trained him since 2020. In February 2026 he said he would train alone. “I’m like Clubber Lang,” he told Boxing News, though The Ring reported in April 2026 that Steward was in his camp.

Stories people still tell

1. Getting up in round 12.

   Wilder’s right hand and left hook put him flat on his back late in their first fight. He got up and finished the round.

2. 94,000.

   The crowd for Whyte at Wembley was, by ESPN’s report, an official tally bigger than any European boxing crowd, and the biggest anywhere since Julio César Chávez fought Greg Haugen in 1993.

Legacy

He has held the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, IBO, WBC and The Ring heavyweight titles, and won The Ring’s Fighter of the Year twice. He never held all four major belts at once. His promoter, Frank Warren, called him “probably the best British heavyweight of his generation by far” when he retired in 2025. He came back a year later.