Tyson Fury won a shutout decision against Francesco Pianeta and got his rounds in. It wasn’t always exciting, but it was much needed work for the former heavyweight titleholder. More importantly, the highly anticipated matchup with Deontay Wilder was announced post-fight.
Tyson Fury (27-0, 19 KOs) said this would be a serious performance rather than the farcical style he used in his first comeback fight. In the first round he did put his hands on the ropes and showboat a bit, but after that it was all business. For the first five rounds Tyson moved and boxed pretty casually. He kept his focus and circled, pumping out the jab and following it with right hands. Francesco Pianeta (35-5-1, 21 KOs) plodded forward and threw some slow shots, but Fury’s nonstop head movement nullified nearly all of them throughout the entire fight.
In the sixth round Fury decided to put his head down and dig in. He landed a borderline shot to the body in the seventh that put Pianeta down, but it was ruled low and Pianeta used the time to gather himself. Fury was more aggressive for about a round and a half from there and did fish for a finish a bit, but he never got close. The Gypsy King then mostly used to the last two rounds to practice fighting out of the southpaw stance. This has caused Deontay Wilder a bit of a problem before, so it seemed very much an intentional strategy to put it on display with Wilder ringside. The Belfast fans did jeer the fight a bit in its second half, but this was what should have been realistically expected. Fury needed his work and he got it.
The referee’s decision came in the appropriate shut out and then the post-fight theatrics began. First the Wilder fight was officially announced. Frank Warren said he couldn’t give exact details yet, but Fury spoiled that it would be in Las Vegas which Showtime later confirmed. Showtime also said the fight would be on PPV, as rumored, and would take place in either November or December. While in the ring together, the two men talked some trash about Joshua avoiding Wilder and then began yelling at each other that they would knock one another out come fight night. It was a weird mix of respectful and hostile, but it was entertaining in true Tyson Fury fashion. Much moreso than the fight in truth.
