Tyson Fury (28-0-1, 20 KOs) made light work of heavy underdog Tom Schwarz (24-1, 16 KOs) in his first fight in Las Vegas, winning by TKO in the second round. Fury capitalized on his growing popularity with American fans after a thrilling draw with Deontay Wilder last year in blasting out Schwarz.
The ease at which he disposed of an unremarkable opponent following a lucrative contract to fight on ESPN perhaps re-establishes Fury as the best heavyweight in the world.
Traditionally, the Brit has always relied upon his superb skills instead of power and brute strength to win fights, but Fury really fought with an edge tonight to make a statement and succeeded. Donning the iconic Rocky franchise U.S. Stars and stripes shorts, the 6-foot-9 pugilist played to the crowd of 9,012 in attendance with the James Brown song “Living in America” playing in the background.
He got right to business with an a-typical fast start firing jabs, stinging combinations and a few body shots for good measure upon his tentative German foe.
“The Gypsy King” landed a hard uppercut in the second round that caught Schwarz’s attention and proceeded to unload on him. Moments later, a left-hand bloodied Schwarz’s nose followed soon thereafter by a more powerful left hand that dropped him to his knees.
It would be the beginning of the end when Fury cornered Schwarz later and unloaded several unanswered shots forcing his corner to throw the white towel and save their fighter from further punishment. Referee Kenny Bayless did not see the towel but called a halt to the battering anyway at 2:54 of the second round.
Fury landed 45 of 158 punches (29 percent) and Schwarz landed 6 of 30 (20 percent) at the time of the stoppage.
Top Rank chairman Bob Arum was so impressed with Fury’s showmanship and ring talents that he compared him to another fighter he promoted previously.
“I haven’t seen a fighter with that much charisma since Muhamad Ali,” Arum said.
Fury serenaded his wife as usual with Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” and thanked fans for coming out to support him.
It’s been an amazing comeback for Fury, who overcame mental illness and substance abuse to whip himself back into shape and title contention within a short period. He is slated to return to the ring in either September or October against an unnamed opponent en route to an eventual rematch with WBC world titleholder Deontay Wilder (41-0-1, 40 KOs).
Wilder must first get past Luis Ortiz this fall in a rematch of his dramatic tenth round knockout win over Ortiz in 2018.
Schwarz had hoped to shock the world like Andy Ruiz Jr. in knocking down and then stopping now former unified champion Anthony Joshua on June 1 in New York but it was not to be. Fury proved to be too much to overcome and would likely be too much for any heavyweight on the planet right now.
Undercard Results
Jesse Hart wins Unanimous Decision over Sullivan Barrera
The North Philadelphian dropped former world title challenger Barrera in the eighth round and hurt him several times in coasting to a clear unanimous decision in his light heavyweight debut. The three judges scored the bout 99-90, 96-93 and 97-92, all in favor of Hart. The 37-year old Barrera consequently suffered the third defeat of his pro career (22-3, 14 KOs) while Hart (26-2, 21 KOs) emerged as a force to reckon with in an already stacked division. Hart revealed to ESPN’s Bernardo Osuna after the fight that he had hurt his hand in the seventh round and couldn’t use it effectively thereafter. I don’t’ take nothing away from Sullivan Barrera, but I hurt my hand in the seventh round,” Hart said. “I had one hand. My right hand was completely shot. After I hurt him and dropped him, I couldn’t really finish him. That’s why you saw the left hook come. As you can see, I can punch with both hands. I take my hat off to him. He came to fight.”
Mikaela Mayer dominates Lizabeth Crespo to Stay Unbeaten
The U.S. Olympian took command of her fight against Lizbeth Crespo from the third round onward to take the unanimous decision in this scrap. Mayer (11-0, 4 KOs) scored her most notable pro win over tough Crespo (13-5, 3 KOs), who repeatedly tried to bully her way in and turn this contest into an all-out brawl.
Tarjetas: 98-92, 99-91 & 100-90
However, that strategy appeared to tire her out by the second half of the fight and Crespo looked exhausted in returning to her corner after the seventh round. Crespo did have some success in landing several shots during several exchanges that she was able to coax her opponent into. Mayer indicated that she now wants to fight for a world title and can make a case after tonight’s performance.
Isaac Lowe (18-0-3, 6 KOs) outclassed tough and rugged but limited Duarn Vue (14-2-2, 4 KOs) to win by wide points decision. Lowe is a close friend of Tyson Fury and boxed beautifully to win by scores of 97-93, 98-92 and 99-91.
Guido Vianello (4-0, 4 KOs) hurt Keenan Hickman (6-4-1, 2 KOs) at the end of the first round and then dropped him three times before stopping him by second-round TKO in a total mismatch.
Cem “Champ” Kilic (14-0, 8 KOs) won a split decision over Martez McGregor in an eight-rounder.
