Sportsman of the Week Ending 4/24/2022

In one of the grandest and most traditional sports, perhaps one of the greatest in that sport etched his name into history in what may be his final competition.  Tyson Fury proved his heavyweight boxing championship meddle with a 6th round knockout of contender Dillian Whyte in front of a phrenetic 90K plus home crowd at England's Wimbley Stadium.  Whyte seemed overmatched by the largish champion Fury as he faced a constant barrage of punches, with 76 landing including 47 power punches.  As the waning seconds of the 6th round ticked down, the referee stopped the fight for a TKO.  Fury finishes his career undefeated, with a 32-0-1 (only 10 fights going the distance, none lost).  In an era where boxing is finding itself among other combat sports, Fury ends with a record in some of the annals of history.  And is a worthy (second time) Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 11/24/2019

The heavyweight boxing division has lacked a singular power (particularly not named Klitschko) for some time, but WBC Champion Deontay Wilder may be that guy.  The numbers pop off the score sheet better than the greats of heavyweight history.  Tyson, Ali, and Louis included.  42-0-1.  41 knockouts.  Yes, one fight he won via cards. And he drew one.  Never lost.  Saturday night in Las Vegas was no different as he faced Luis Ortiz for the second time in 21 months.  And for the second time, he won without it going the distance.  Despite being behind on all cards, the power punch of Wilder proved to be the difference.  He landed it late in the 7th round.  And despite Ortiz's ability to get to his feet near the end of the 10 count, the referee stopped it.  Wilder wins.  Again.  He'll now get a shot at Tyson Fury, former Sportsman of the Week who was his only draw.  But the division is Wilder's.  Big, strong, and knockout potential.  That's the heavyweight boxing I remember, and our Sportsman of the Week is bringing it back!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 11/29/2015

Upsets are what makes sports go around, and this week there was an upset nearly 12 years in the making.  Ukranian Wladimir Klitschko had dominated the heavyweight boxing ranks since taking the title in 2006.  21 straight fight wins had somewhat relegated the heavyweight division to an exhibition.  Enter Tyson Fury (perhaps the best heavyweight boxing name ever) who pulled off a 5:1 upset to win a unanimous decision in Dusseldorf, Germany.  The 27-year-old British behemoth Fury outboxed the suddenly aging Klitschko to a relatively non-entertaining, but decisive effort.  If nothing else, this shakes up the heavyweight division in the near term, perhaps brining back fans who remember the Tyson-Holyfield, Holyfield-Lewis bouts of a bygone era. Tyson Fury is our Sportsman of the Week!