The viewing figures for Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury’s trilogy have fallen short of their second bout last year. Their thrilling three-episode bout ended with a classic, with ‘The Gypsy King’ finally seeing off his bitter rival with an 11th round knockdown.
But according to Yahoo Sports via the Mirror, pay-per-view figures for the trilogy bout narrowly fell below the 600,000 sales that was the target pre-fight.
Approximately half of the buys reportedly came from overseas with many of them expected to have come from BT Sport box Office in the UK.
The figure falls well below the 850,000 strong buys that were recorded from their enthralling rematch in February 2020, which Fury triumphed in following a spectacular display.
Despite figures not coming in as much as planned, both heavyweights are set to be handed hefty purses with victor Fury expected to earn more than £18 million.
The Bronze Bomber was knocked out in the 11th round by the Gypsy King in what will go down as one of the greatest heavyweight boxing matches in history.
Wilder began the fight on the front foot, looking to use his aggression and power to target Fury’s body.
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This was a completely different game plan from the American, who relied predominantly on his strong knockout punch in the previous two fights against Fury.
However, the WBC heavyweight champion began to find his rhythm and used his superb movement to avoid Wilder’s punches as he began to tire.
In the second half of the bout, the Brit began to come into his own, which saw Wilder withstand an onslaught from Fury.
Despite the punishment he endured in the latter rounds, Wilder kept battling knowing all he needed was one solid punch to shift the momentum.
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However, it wasn’t to be as Fury piled on the pressure and managed to secure a brutal blow in the penultimate round to keep the former champion down.
Wilder, who refused to shake Fury’s hand following their trilogy fight, took to Instagram yesterday to congratulate ‘The Gyspsy King’ on his epic win.
“I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t disappointed in the outcome but after reflecting on my journey, I now see that what God wanted me to experience is far greater than what I expected to happen.
“We didn’t get the win but a wise man once said the victories are within the lessons. I’ve learned that sometimes you have to lose to win. Although I wanted the win I enjoyed seeing the fans win even more.