BERNSTEIN ON BOXING
pure boxing that bordered on timidity. Against Usyk, when most would have expected him to use his power and size against an undersized opponent, he continued to be a technician and not an attacker. Then, against Daniel Dubois, he took TOO MANY chances when he had Dubois hurt, and that led to his downfall. He has provided this era with some of the most exciting rounds in recent heavyweight history, and yet also some of the most frustratingly subdued performances we’ve seen from a major heavyweight figure. It has all been fascinating to watch as he draws huge live crowds and some very large pay- per-view audiences. We all have tried to solve the puzzle that is Anthony Joshua. His excellence and frailty have given this era a genuine enigma. Check that one off, too.
a champion, a star in the sport, and he participated in one of the exciting heavyweight trilogies of all time. I announced the first Fury-Wilder fight in 2018. While the action was not nonstop, the atmosphere was tense and electric as we all wondered when Wilder’s power would show up and hurt Fury. We got our answer in Round 9 when Fury was sent to the canvas. But he survived, and Wilder was a bit fatigued and not able to follow up in that round or the next two. In the 12th (another round controlled by Fury, as almost all were in the fight), Wilder landed the perfect right hand, the kind that had always stopped his opponents. That’s when I witnessed the single most surprising thing I have seen in over 40 years of announcing fights. I saw Fury lay motionless on the canvas for about five seconds and then rise like Lazarus, with his 6-foot-9 frame seemingly getting up in sections, to the astonishment of every single person in that arena. He even finished the round stronger than Wilder. It ended as a controversial draw, and Fury’s survival of that knockdown became boxing folklore. For fight number two in 2020, Fury raised eyebrows by weighing in at 273 pounds, one of his highest weights to that point. He proclaimed before the fight that the extra weight was so he could bully Wilder – he said he would face the power head-on with his own strength. Most folks didn’t believe Fury would try to execute that plan. Not only did he do it – it worked perfectly. He was able to stop Wilder in Round 7 of the most one-sided fight of their trilogy. Fight three in 2021 produced one of the two most thrilling heavyweight fights I’ve viewed in person. The other was the 1978 match between Larry Holmes and Kenny Norton. They provided 15 scintillating rounds highlighted by a 15th round that remains one of the best in heavyweight history. With the fight on the line, they battled to the end, and Holmes gained a razor-thin victory. I sat there that June afternoon at Caesars Palace and thought
that I may never again be present for a heavyweight fight this exciting. Well, 43 years later, I was. Fury-Wilder 3 was destined to be a brawl. Both men wanted a conclusive ending to the fight. Fury sent Wilder down in the third round and it looked like it might be a replay of the second fight, with Fury just having his way. In the very next round, however, Wilder hit Fury with a right hand that would have knocked out anyone and should have created a knockout on that night. But, hey, this was Tyson Fury, and he just won’t allow himself to be knocked out. He beat the count, did so again after another knockdown just before the bell, and for several more rounds they exchanged big punches, with Fury doing most of the damage. Then Fury created a violent and destructive ending for Wilder in the 11th. The arena that night was alive with excitement. The courage and grit displayed in the ring that night by both men was something that would be hard to ever forget. So, yes, this era had a great trilogy. There have been many more exciting fights in this division involving the likes of Daniel Dubois, Joe Joyce, Dillian Whyte, Zhilei Zhang, Joseph Parker, Luis Ortiz and Derek Chisora, who never met a brawl he didn’t like. A division that some believed to be moribund 12 years ago came alive with three, then four big stars and a supporting cast of good fighters. They all collectively ended up creating a lot of fun for the fans. It is possible that they have milked the last huge fight out of this era with the two Usyk- Fury extravaganzas, but I wouldn’t bet on it. Still, we know the landscape is close to changing, and we will be left to simply reminisce about this group of heavyweight stars that gave us so many excellent memories in a decade’s time. I, for one, will enjoy the reminiscing. Hall of Fame broadcaster Al Bernstein has been the voice of boxing on ESPN, then Showtime. He now announces the Big Time Boxing USA series on DAZN and hosts his own YouTube show.
4. A GREAT TRILOGY
The Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier and Evander Holyfield-Riddick Bowe trilogies were centerpieces of those respective heavyweight eras and added immeasurably to them being special. The Tyson Fury-Deontay Wilder trilogy does the same for this era. Wilder, the fourth main spoke in the wheel of this heavyweight era, is an imperfect power-puncher. With a late start in boxing, he could never quite figure out how to have his technique catch up with his power. Still, he became
Muhammad Ali (here in his third fight against Joe Frazier) satisfied all four categories on his own.
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