- Going into his title fight against the long reigning champion Wladimir Klitschko not many people gave Tyson Fury a chance. That didn't matter when the opening bell rang on HBO's telecast though because clearly Fury believed he had a chance, and a good one. From the start Fury's awkward style seemed to bother Klitschko and the champion just couldn't pull the trigger on his punches. For the most part the fight was a bore outside of a 9th round that saw both fighters buzzed. However, even with a point deduction late in the fight, Fury won a comfortable unanimous decision and in doing so dethroned the second longest reigning heavyweight champion in the history of the sport and made himself the man in the division.
- On that same night Showtime put on a card headlined by James DeGale and Lucian Bute. DeGale was looked at as a big favorite because many believed that Bute's best days were long behind him. Instead of a shutout for DeGale fans were treated to a fantastic fight with blistering action from the opening bell until the final round. In the end DeGale won a unanimous decision but the fight showed that Bute is far from done and it should be in the running as a Fight of the Year candidate.
- Also on that Showtime card was a light heavyweight fight between Isaac Chilemba and Eleider Alvarez for a shot at a title. The fight was extremely close throughout and many rounds could have gone either way. In was the type of fight that could have been a draw or seen either fighter win by a round or two but no more than that. When the scores were announced one judge had it even, another had Alvarez by a razor thin margin and Peter Hary turned in a score of 118-110 for Alvarez which shattered Chilemba's dream of fighting for a title and also marked himself as an incompetent referee. On another fight which aired on Showtime Extreme the drama was even more pronounced. Amir Imam one of boxing's best young fighters was guaranteed a title shot but would have had to wait 6-8 months. In the meantime he decided to take on a stay busy fight against Adrian Granados. Imam dropped Granados in the opening round and had there been more time may have stopped him. He didn't though and that is when Granados came alive. The underdog poured on the punches and never let up as he started to beat up Imam who abandoned his jab and seemed to have no answer for the aggression of Granados. In the 8th round Granados got Imam in trouble and piled on the punches. Imam was taking a beating and when he bent over and stopped protecting himself the referee jumped in and stopped the action, giving Granados the biggest win of his career.
- On Saturday afternoon NBC aired a PBC card that featured some top quality young fighters, although they weren't matched up against very stiff competition. In the main event Jermall Charlo dominated Wilky Campfort before stopping him in the 4th round. That should be the last time Charlo takes on a relatively unknown opponent because he is extremely talented. Also on that card was Errol Spence Jr. who many people see as the future of boxing. Spence remained perfect by stopping Alejandro Barrera in the 5th round and he seems poised for a big test. The opening bout of the card featured the young and talented Erickson Lubin taking on Alexis Camacho. Lubin dropped Camacho in the opening round and knocked him out in the 2nd round in what will be a contender for Knockout of the Year.
- Before all of Saturday's action the PBC also put on a card on ESPN on Wednesday night. That fight was headlined by Erislandy Lara as he took on Jan Zaveck. Zaveck looked old and worn down from the start and Lara proved to be much more aggressive than usual. When he got Zaveck hurt instead of playing it safe Lara went in for the kill and stopped Zaveck in the 3rd round after Zaveck apparently injured himself.
WEEKLY RECORD: 5-3
MONTHLY RECORD: 14-9-1
OVERALL RECORD: 608-176-21
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