Tyson Fury’s 11th-round knockout win against Deontay Wilder will go down as one of the most thrilling boxing fights of all time.
Drawing a conclusion to their long-standing feud, the fight, which featured five knockdowns and plenty of heavy shots, has been ranked against some of the biggest fights in boxing’s history.
Colin Hart, of The Sun, has had a go at creating a definitive ranking for the best fights ever, with Fury vs Wilder 3 falling behind some of the sport’s biggest showdowns.
6. Tyson Fury vs Deontay Wilder, October 9, 2021, Las Vegas.
In similar circumstances to his first fight against Wilder, Fury once again pulled himself up from the canvas, not once, but twice to defeat Wilder in scintillating circumstances.
It was a true slug match of two big hitters, with The Gypsy King coming back to knock wilder down twice before landing a devastating knockout blow in the 11th round of the fight.
Although Wilder can assert himself as one of boxings best heavyweights, he was outclassed by the Wythenshawe Warrior, who dominated from round six onwards.
5. Mike Tyson vs Buster Douglas, February 2, 1990, Tokyo
‘Iron’ Mike Tyson is considered one of the world’s greatest fighters, but he was vastly out-punched in his bout against underdog Buster Douglas, who stripped the Baddest Man on the Planet of his world titles.
Douglas was greatly unfancied before the fight, proving many sceptics wrong as he dismantled Tyson with a clinical knockout in the tenth round to become the heavyweight champion in one of the greatest upsets in boxing history.
4. George Foreman vs Muhammad Ali, October 29, 1974 Kinshasa, Zaire
Considerable concerns for Muhammad Ali’s safety arose when he called out George Foreman in the infamous Rumble in the Jungle fight.
Ali was reagarded as a massive underdog and had to think strategically about how to beat the undefeated world heavyweight champion and devised his ‘rope-a-dope’ strategy, which he used to tire Foreman out.
Sitting back on the ropes, Ali let Foreman repeatedly pound him before seeing an opportunity to land a brutal combo on his exhausted opponent and score a devastating knockout to claim the world championship.
3. Riddick Bowe vs Evander Holyfield, November 13, 1992, Las Vegas
Riddick Bowe and Evander Holyfield’s three-fight saga will go down as one of the greatest series in boxing history and featured one of the most thrilling rounds of boxing the world has ever seen.
In their trilogy fight, the pair came out for the 10th round, with Bowe proceeding to smash Holyfield, who, despite looking dazed, refused to hit the deck.
Holyfield proceeded to counter and bounced back with such ferocity that left his opponent hanging on for the final bell.
2. Muhammad Ali vs Joe Frazier, October 1, 1975
Dubbed as the Thrilla in Manila, this incredible heavyweight bout lived up to its name and is one of the most revered fights of all time.
The pair, who had a long-standing rivalry, stood in the middle of the ring and traded some incredible blows that saw Smokin’ Joe Frazier’s trainer ask the referee to stop the fight after Frazier’s eye closed over.
Muhammad Ali commented on the ferocity of the blows that were being thrown after the fight and famously said: “That’s the nearest I’ve come to dying.”
1. Muhammad Ali vs Joe Frazier, March 8, 1971
The first of their three-fight trilogy took place in front of 20,000 fans at the Madison Square Garden in New York and was publicised as the ‘Fight of the Century’.
The fight went the distance with fans being treated to 15 rounds of thrilling boxing and saw Ali back into the ring after a three-year exile.
Ali was knocked down in the 15th round and was narrowly beaten by Frazier on points, ending up in hospital afterwards with a suspected broken jaw.