Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder faced off for the third time on Saturday night, engaging in a thrilling contest for the WBC heavyweight championship at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Ultimately, it was the Gypsy King who took the spoils, finally stopping Wilder in the 11th round and retaining his world title. However, the millions watching around the world were taken on quite the rollercoaster ride before reaching that point.
After an encouraging opening round for the challenger, Fury stamped his authority on proceedings in the two rounds that followed. When the giant Brit sent Wilder sprawling to the canvas in the third round, a repeat of Fury's TKO win in their second fight seemed inevitable.
The Bronze Bomber barely made it back to his corner at the end of the session - and appeared to have very little left in the tank. Sensationally, though, just minutes later, Wilder dropped Fury twice in the fourth round with two massive right hands to completely turn the tide of the bout.
It was exhilarating stuff, with Wilder genuinely looking to be on the verge of an upset victory for a period. Fury, however, was a man on a mission and somehow regained his feet on each occasion.
Asked at the post-fight press conference what he was thinking when Wilder almost took him out, Fury replied: "Not a great deal!
"You go swimming, you’re going to get wet," reasoned the undefeated champion.
"You play with fire long enough you’ll get burned. I’ve had three fights with the biggest puncher in the history of my sport, in my division. And he caught me. He caught me twice in the fourth round. But, I was never thinking, ‘Aw, this is over.’ I was thinking, ‘Okay, good shot. But, I will get you back in a minute.’ And I did."
The Ultimate Tyson Fury quiz
Fury, who along with his trainer SugarHill Steward attended the post-fight media briefing shirtless, then went on to explain his attitude to adversity - both in his clash with Wilder as well as in life itself. His motivational speech - shared by talkSPORT's Michael Benson on Twitter - has now gone viral.
"I was very conscious [after the knockdowns]. I saw the ref go, ‘3, 4 ...’ and I was always there, you know? He shook me, he put me down, and that’s boxing. And it’s life as well, it’s not about how many times you get put down or how many times you lose, it’s about how you come back and can keep getting up and keep moving forward.
"Like Rocky said: You gotta keep moving forward in a positive manner and keep fighting. Not just in a boxing fight, but in life as well, because nothing’s ever going to be easy.
"If you want something that's very hard to get then you've got to sacrifice, dedicate and keep pushing, no matter what and never let anyone tell you, 'you can't', because tonight again I showed it's positive to achieve anything you want, as long as you believe it in here [pointing to his head]."
You can check out the video of Fury's speech below.
Let's be honest. Tyson Fury is never going to be a character that is universally loved. In some ways that is part of his appeal. However, what is tough to dispute at this point is that he is one of the toughest human beings on the planet.
Wilder is one of the most fearsome punchers in the history of the sport - and the owner of a staggering knockout ratio (41 stoppages in his 42 victories). This isn't just any heavyweight putting Fury down, it's one of the most clinical finishers ever.
If Wilder can't manage it in three attempts, it's hard to envision which of the current heavyweight crop will be able to stop Fury. Certainly, if you ask the man himself, we might be waiting forever.