Tyson Fury obliterates Whyte in sixth-round TKO, retains WBC title

Tyson Fury destroyed Dillian Whyte with a right uppercut in the sixth round to retain his WBC heavyweight title Saturday before more than 94,000 at Wembley Stadium in London.

Whyte initially beat the 10 count, but when referee Mark Lyson asked him to walk forward, he stumbled into the ropes and the bout was halted with one second remaining in the round.

The 33-year-old Fury was making the second defense of the title he snagged from Deontay Wilder in February 2020 via a one-sided seventh-round KO. Fury followed that win with an emphatic 11th-round KO of Wilder in their memorable trilogy last fall.

Leading up to the fight, Fury claimed he would retire following his latest title defense. After his drubbing of Whyte, Fury didn't make it official, but hinted that it remains a possibility.

"I promised my lovely wife, Paris, of 14 years that after the Wilder 3 fight that would be it, and I meant it," Fury said after the fight. "It was a great trilogy and I meant that.

"But I got offered to fight at Wembley, at home, a fight I deserved -- I owed it to the fans ... I owed it to every person in the U.K. to fight at Wembley. And now it's all gone, I have to be a man of my word and think this is it. This might be the final curtain of the Gypsy King."

According to Compubox, Fury (32-0-1, 23 KOs) landed 76 of 243 punches (47 percent) and Whyte (28-3, 19 KOs) connected just 29 of 171 blows (21 percent).

Bob Arum, Top Rank chairman and co-promoter for Fury, who wasn't able to attend Saturday's bout due to a battle with COVID-19, praised the champion's performance.

"Tyson Fury proved his greatness once again," Arum said. "There had never, ever been a heavyweight like 'the Gypsy King' and tonight was one of his best performances."

Although Fury could retire, he also implied that he could face current UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, who joined him in the ring, in a fight under "hybrid rules," meaning the two men would wear MMA gloves while fighting in a boxing ring.

"I want to find out who is the baddest motherf---er on the planet," Ngannou said of Fury.

Fury expressed interest in earning "some of that Floyd Mayweather money."

"I want to have fun. I'm an entertainer. ... It's what I do best," Fury said. "Big Francis Ngannou is here today, he's on my hit list in an exhibition fight, however he wants it: in a cage, in a boxing ring, boxing gloves, UFC gloves, we can make it happen. I think everyone wants to see it. He's a monster of a guy, I'm a monster of a guy, so it will be a clash of the titans for sure."