Tyson Fury Ends Wladimir Klitschko's 9-Year Reign as the Heavyweight Champion
After 18 straight successful title defenses, Wlad loses the heavyweight championship.
At 39 years old, the 6’6” Wladimir Klitschko has held a portion of the heavyweight championship since 2006 when he defeated Chris Byrd to win both the IBF and IBO titles. However, after 18 successful title defenses and 22 straight wins over an 11 year span, the future hall-of-famer lost in a unanimous decision this weekend to the undefeated Tyson Fury — 27-year-old British fighter named after Mike Tyson. Klitschko said after the fight, “Tyson was the faster and better man tonight. I felt quite comfortable in the first six rounds, but I was astonished that Tyson was so fast in the second half as well. I couldn’t throw my right hand because the advantage was the longer distance he had.”
The Ukrainian’s 18 consecutive successful defenses are third most in division history, behind only Joe Louis (25 — the record for any weight class) and Larry Holmes (20). With a title reign that lasted over nine years, Klitschko’s was the second longest in division history behind Louis, who held the title for more than 11 years.
According to ESPN, Klitschko has a clause in his contract that calls for an immediate rematch at his option, so a sequel fight is very likely.
