LOS ANGELES — Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury are meeting at Staples Center in Los Angeles on Saturday evening for a clash between two unbeaten heavyweights. The fight will be televised by Showtime pay-per-view and marks Wilder’s first time fighting on pay-per-view. Wilder enters the fight 40-0 with 39 knockouts, while Fury is 27-0 with 19 KOs. On the line is the Bronze Bomber’s WBC heavyweight championship belt.
Wilder, a bronze medalist at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, has won his last seven fights by knockout, including a first-round knockout two fights ago. There have been questions about the quality of his opponents, so Fury is arguably his toughest opponent yet. Fury is fighting for the third time this year after a three-year hiatus from the sport following his win over Wladimir Klitschko in 2015. He is 6-foot-9, weighed in at 256.5 pounds, and will physically match the 6-foot-7 Wilder.
Larry Brown Sports is in attendance for the fight and will provide coverage of the main event and some undercard fights. Continue refreshing this link to read the latest updates from Staples Center.
All times written in Pacific Time.
9:43 pm – We go to the ring and Jimmy Lennon Jr. gets the card from the 3 judges at ringside. Wow, all I can say is WOW!!! It is a draw. We hope that you enjoyed this live blog of the Wilder/Fury ppv. We leave you with the scoring by the 3 judges ringside.
Here are the scoring by each judge.
Judge #1-115-111-Wilder
Judge #2-114-112-Fury
Judge #3-113-113-Draw
9:35 pm – Here we are in the 12th and final round of this fight. Wilder with a nice 1-2 combo that puts down Fury. Fury gets up and the ref lets the fight continue. The building is on fire!! Everybody is on their feet. I have to give that round to Wilder because of that incredible knockdown. Major props goes out to Fury for getting back up. Both fighters hug it out in the ring after the bell rings. I have Wilder winning it 8-4.
9:31 pm – We are starting the 11th round and the crowd is rowdy and cheering both fighters on. Wilder and Fury are exchanging control of the ring. Wilder is still throwing haymakers and missing. I would give this round to Fury since he controlled most of it. Wilder is still winning 7-4.
9:27 pm – We are starting the 10th of a scheduled 12 rounds. Fury is starting the round being aggressive and throwing punches. That only lasted for about 0:30 seconds until he tired out. Speaking of tired, Wilder looks very tired while Fury looks to get a new pep in his step. Wilder closes the round with a nice combo of punches that rocked Fury and had him on the ropes. I give that round to Wilder and he is winning 7-3.
9:23 pm – As we start the ninth round Wilder is going for the TKO. He hits Fury and down goes Fury at the 2:00 mark. The ref starts the count but Fury makes it up. Now we have a fight on our hands!! He keeps raising his hands and sticking out his tongue to get into the head of Wilder. The crowd is loving it! Great round for Wilder as he needed that round to separate himself from Fury. Wilder is winning 6-3.
9:19 pm – We start the eight round and both fighters are in the center of the ring throwing back and forth. Wilder kind of looks out of it because he’s been more aggressive and Fury has been coasting it with his defense. Wilder looks worn out while Fury looks to enjoy the fact that he’s not throwing punches but winning rounds according to the judges on Showtime… I give Fury this round only because he hit Wilder with a few good punches. Wilder is winning 5-3.
9:15 pm – We start the seventh round and they showed that Fury is leading according to the scorecards that Showtime is providing. I have Wilder in control of this match and leading 5-1 through six rounds. Wilder is aggressive but missing on his haymakers. Wilder is winning 5-2 because Fury hit Wilder with a good combo earlier in the round.
9:11 pm – We are almost at the halfway mark of this scheduled 12-round heavyweight championship title match. It’s the same routine in this round as in most of the previous rounds. Wilder is being aggressive and in control while Fury is being defensive and raising his hands at the end of each round. Wilder is winning 5-1 in my opinion because he’s in control of the match and aggressive.
9:07 pm – The start of the fifth round and we have another round of singing by the fans. Wilder is in the center of the ring. Wilder is controlling the ring and swinging but unfortunately missing. Fury needs to start throwing punches and stop being defensive. I know that he doesn’t want to get knocked down/knocked out but he has to start throwing punches if he wants to get a win. Wilder is controlling this match and is up winning 4-1.
9:03 pm – The start of the fourth round and the crowd starts singing once again to get Fury some motivation….now we have the Staples Center fans all yelling “USA USA USA”. There is a great amount of energy in the arena now. The round ends with both fighters staring each other down. I would give Wilder that round because he was in control and attacking. Wilder is winning 3-1.
8:59 pm – The start of the third round in this heavyweight championship match. Fury is teasing Wilder to attack him as he puts his arms behind his back multiple times. He’s countering Wilder’s advance with a couple of good left/right combos. The crowd wants to see some action but no real punching by either boxer. Both fighters swing and miss as we end the third round. I will give that round to Fury since he was able to counter Wilder. Wilder is winning 2-1.
8:55 pm – The start of the second round and the Fury fans are enjoying themselves with chants throughout the arena. Nothing really happening in this round other than Wilder leading the dance and Fury backtracking. Once again it comes down to the final seconds of the round and Fury raises his hands after he hits Wilder one time to the delight of his fans. I still give Wilder this round because he was in control of the ring and Fury was backtracking for most of the round. Wilder is winning 2-0.
8:51 pm – Here we are ladies and gentleman, the final fight of the evening. The crowd here are the Staples Center is ready and hopefully so are you. Wilder is aggressive from the start and trying to use his lighter frame as an advantage. A couple of left hooks and crosses by Wilder to get Fury away from him. Towards the end of the round and Fury is in the corner and comes out with a few punches that hit Wilder. The crowd is into it as the first round ends. I would give it to Wilder because he was the aggressive fighter for most of the round and controlled the center of the ring. Wilder is winning 1-0.
8:45 pm – Jimmy Lennon Jr is introducing both fighters now that they are both in the ring!!! I’m surprised to hear a lot of booing for both boxers.
8:35 pm – A video is shown of both fighters and the crowd is ready!!!! We are finally getting to see the highly anticipated match between these two undefeated giants. Coming down first to the ring is “The Gypsy King” Fury is (27-0, 19 KOs) and weighed in at 256.5 at the weigh-ins and is fighting out of Manchester, England. The crowd is booing him. It’s very lively now!! Now the introduction for Deontay Wilder (40-0, 39 KOs) and weighed in at 212.5 at the weigh-ins and is fighting out of Tuscaloosa, AL. This should be a great match. Hopefully it will live up to the hype!!
8:30 pm – Jimmy Lennon Jr asks for a moment of silence for the passing of George Bush Sr.
8:15 pm – The crowd is up and singing “Sweet Caroline”.
8:01 pm – We start the third round and Welborn already has Hurd on the ropes near his corner. That doesn’t last for long as Hurd counters and is now in the center of the ring and Welborn is on the defensive side of a few combos by Hurd. Less than a minute to go in the round and Welborn has Hurd on the ropes and is attacking as we close the round. Welborn took the round with the late combos. He’s up 2-1.
7:57 pm – We start the second round and right away we see Hurd taking control and on the attack. Both boxers are taking their turns going back and forth with the jabs and inside/outside combos. With 1:06 left in the round, Welborn has Hurd on the ropes and gets him with a good left/right combo to the head. Hurd is on the ropes and reverses himself to the center of the ring and starts to lead with his left jab to keep Welborn away. I would give that round to Welborn since he was more aggressive and controlled more of the round. 1-1 draw.
7:53 pm – We start the first round and both fighters seem to be ready for a long night. As both fighters are fighting inside and outside and countering each other’s attack. Welborn’s mouth piece falls out and the ref calls for a timeout to get it washed and restart the match with 0:45 remaining in the first round. I will give the first round to Hurd since he is the champion and was in control of most of the round. Hurd 1-0.
7:44 pm – We go to the ring and Jimmy Lennon Jr. introduces our next fight. Coming to the ring first is Jason Welborn (24-6, 7 Kos) who weighed in at 152.5 lbs at the weigh-ins and is fighting out of Tividale, England. He looked to be in great condition yesterday and looks to great today as well. He’s facing the current and Defending WBA (Super), IBF, and IBO light middleweight champion, Jarrett “Swift” Hurd (22-0, 15 Kos). Hurd weighed in at 152.6 lbs at the weigh-ins yesterday and is fighting out of Accokeek, MD. Dr. Lou Moret was just announced by Jimmy Lennon Jr to be making his final championship match as the 3rd man in the ring. It should be a great fight as both boxers look to be in great condition and are expecting a long fight. The crowd is finally ready to have an upbeat title match!!
7:32 pm – When Jim Gray asked Luis Ortiz who he wants to fight in the winner of the Wilder/Fury match, Ortiz said that he wants a re-match against Wilder to redeem himself and his family.
7:31 pm – Winner by way of knockout and going to a record of 30-1, 26 KO’s, Luis “King Kong” Ortiz!!
7:26 pm – We are in the 10th and final found of this heavyweight match. The fans seem to want this match to end with some action. Just like that, Ortiz hits Kauffman with another combination and finishes it with a left hook. The ref starts the count and lets Kauffman come to him to see if he’s able to continue. With less than 2:00 min left in the round, Ortiz goes with a fury of combinations and Kauffman has no answer for it. The ref steps in and stops the fight. I think it was a premature stoppage but I guess the ref wanted to get out of the ring as well.
7:22 pm – We start the ninth round and Ortiz can taste the win. The crowd boos Kauffman after he gets hit below the waist with an accidental left uppercut by Ortiz. Kauffman goes down, but the ref calls it a slip and not a knockdown. Ortiz wins this round and is up 9-0.
7:17 pm – Ortiz seems to be annoyed with Kauffman’s tactics of delaying as he is fighting inside. Ortiz keeps throwing out his right jab just to distance himself from Kauffman and to measure his combos. He gets Kauffman with another nice left uppercut for a knockdown by the corner ropes. The ref starts the count and Kauffman is once again back on his feet. The crowd is once again booing both fighters. Ortiz is up 8-0.
7:13pm – The start of the seventh round sees both fighters meet at the center. A little more action by both fighters, but nothing spectacular or exciting happened. Ortiz is up 7-0.
7:13 pm – The fans see Evander Holyfield on the big screen and the crowd starts to cheer.
7:10 pm – Start of the sixth round and right off the bat, Ortiz gets Kauffman with a good left cross to the chin that causes Kauffman to get knocked down. The ref is starting the count. Kauffman is up and ready to go back in this match. Kauffman is finally realizing that he has to be aggressive to have any chance to win this match. He can’t just kill time and think that he’s going to get the W. I give this round to Ortiz once again because of the knockdown earlier in the round. Ortiz is up 6-0.
7:08 pm – They are showing Jarrett Hurd warming up in his locker room up on the big screen and the fans are cheering for him.
7:05 pm – We’re starting the fifth round and you can hear the fans start yelling and booing both fighters. Not much action so far. A lot of swings and misses by both fighters. We are having the celebrities show up to their seats and the fans are more interested in that than what’s going on in the ring. I’m going to give this round to Ortiz as well since he’s leading the dance for Kauffman. Ortiz is up 5-0.
7:01 pm – As we start the fourth round, it’s easy to see that Ortiz is trying to get the big win via a TKO compared to Kauffman. It seems like Kauffman is ok with let the fight get into the later rounds where he can hopefully get Ortiz with a good punch. As the round is nearing an end, the fans are booing both fighters. Kauffman raises his hands and the fans boo him even more before Ortiz hits him to the delight of the fans. Ortiz is winning each round because he’s more aggressive and in control of the ring. Ortiz is up 4-0.
6:57 pm – We start the third round. A minute into the round, Kuaffman gets hit with an left straight below the waist by Ortiz. The ref gives him time to get it together. Kauffman is back and both fighters touch gloves and we re-start this match. Ortiz has been good at cutting the corners for the most part and letting Kauffman put himself on the ropes. Not much action in this round either, but since Ortiz was the aggressor, I’ll give him the round as he is up 3-0.
6:53 pm – We start the second round and we see a little more action than we did in the 1st round. Ortiz is taking control and cutting off the right from Kauffman. Both fighters are having a sparring session and just pacing themselves. As the round comes to the end, Ortiz corners Kauffman and gets him with a good body and head shot. Ortiz was in control of that round and he looks like he’s just waiting to catch Kauffman with a good combo to make it a quick night. Ortiz is up 2-0.
6:50 pm – Both fighters are starting off slow as they don’t want to wear themselves out. Let’s be honest, they’re both looking for a TKO to get the crowd into it and to get themselves a bigger and better payday for future fights. A lot of shadow boxing and nothing happened in first round. Hopefully it will change in the later rounds. In my opinion, Ortiz was more aggressive and controlled the ring for most of the round, so I will give him the round. Luis Ortiz 1-0 over Travis Kauffman.
6:45 pm – Our second matchup is up next as we have another heavyweight match between 6’3” Travis Kauffman (32-2, 15 KOs) who weighed in at 229 lbs at the weigh-ins and is fighting out of Reading, PA as he going up against Luis Ortiz. Luis “King Kong” Ortiz (29-1, 2 ND’s, 25 KOs) weighed in at 241 lbs at the weigh-ins and is fighting out of Camaguey, Cuba. Ortiz almost beat Wilder earlier this year in their match in March 3rd, when they fought at the Barclays Center.
6:34 pm – We have a little time to kill until we get to our next scheduled fight. The house DJ is trying to keep the audience entertained as he is playing “I get around” by 2pac and the Underground. Hopefully we will have our net match within the next 5-10 min.
6:25 pm – Jim Gray does his post-fight interview with Joe “Juggernaut” Joyce and asks who he wants to face next. Joyce acknowledges that he needs to have a few more fights under him in order to get matches with the bigger names in the heavyweight division.
6:20 pm – This might be a quick fight as both heavyweights look hungry for a big win. Joe is starting to show his power and his experience off the gate. As he is on the attack and going for the early victory. He has a good left jab setting up his right cross and uppercuts. A little back and forth but nothing happening for Joe Hanks as he looks like he didn’t expect Joe Joyce to have this much power behind his shots. Joyce has Hanks on the ropes and sets up a beautiful right jab to finish it with a left hook. The ref starts the count and Hanks isn’t going to be able to get back on his feet. The referee stops the fight as Hanks is not getting up. There you have it, Joe “Juggernaut Joyce” with an early TKO with 2:25 in the 1st round. He is now the WBA Continental Heavyweight Champion with a record of 7-0 and all seven wins coming by way of TKO.
6:16 pm – Here we go with our introductions by the always classy, Jimmy Lennon Jr as he introduces the 3rd men in the ring, referee Jerry Cantu. Our first match up is between against Joe “The Future” Hanks (23-2, 15 KOs) who weighed in at 247.5 lbs at the weigh-ins and is fighting out of Newark, New Jersey as he goes up against the former 2016 Olympic silver medalist Joe “Juggernaut” Joyce (6-0, 6 KOs) who weighed in at 262 lbs at the weigh-ins and is fighting out of London, England. He has a lot of potential to go far but he’s already 33yrs old, so time isn’t on his side. This should be an exciting match, with two orthodox heavyweights who both need a big win on the big stage.
6:00 pm – Good evening and welcome to Larry Brown Sports’ live blog of the Deontay Wilder/Tyson Fury pay-per-view main card. There will hopefully be a lot of action. The crowd is slowly coming down and filling up their seats inside the Staples Center. We’ve already had a few undercard matches that resulted in quick TKOs, and if that’s any indication of what’s to come, we might be out of here a lot sooner than expected.
