Tyson Fury produced a vicious right uppercut to stop Dillian Whyte in the blink of an eye and retain his WBC heavyweight title at Wembley.
Almost six full rounds had passed without a moment of significance as the champion evaded a rival lacking in ideas, before Fury unleashed a brilliant right hand to send Whyte to the canvas with seconds remaining in the sixth.
Whyte got to his feet but was unstable as he fell to the ropes to regain his balance, and referee Mark Lyson quickly waved it off.
"I just want to say, I'm overwhelmed with the support," said Fury. "I cannot believe, 94,000 of my countrymen and women came here tonight to see me perform. I just want to say, from the bottom of my heart, thank you so much to every single person who bought a ticket, or stayed up late to watch it on TV.
"Dillian Whyte is a warrior, and I believe Dillian will be a world champion. But tonight he met a great in the sport. I'm one of the greatest heavyweights of all-time, and unfortunately for Dillian Whyte, he had to face me here tonight.
"There's no disgrace, it's a tough game, he's as strong as a bull and he's got the learn of a lion. But you're not messing with a mediocre heavyweight, you're messing with the best man on the planet, and you saw that tonight.
"I think Lennox Lewis could even be proud of that right uppercut tonight."
After a long ring walk in which Fury sat on a throne before joining Whyte in the ring, the fight started cagily, Whyte surprising everyone with a southpaw stance for the first round before switching as he came out for the second.
In neither round was the challenger able to get inside Fury, who used his significant reach advantage to maintain distance and fight on his terms. As he circled the ring, it was boxer versus brawler, and the latter was slow and ponderous as he looked for a way through.
As Whyte's corner urged him to close the gap and fire off shorter shots, instead their man was confined to wild swings from distance and Fury was content to ease out of the way, though the pair did get close as their heads clashed.
Referee Lyson twice had to read the riot act to both fighters as they engaged in some roughhouse tactics but Fury was back to work in the fifth round, enjoying success with quick, straight combinations without seemingly to inflict any great damage.
That changed in the dying seconds of round six as Fury produced one of the punches of his career, ending the fight in an instance and retaining his unbeaten record through 33 fights.
π¬ "Now it's all done, I have to be a man of my word, and I think this is it. This might be the final curtain for the Gypsy King. What a way to go out."
β Sporting Life π―π΄πΎβ³οΈπ₯ππ π (@SportingLifeFC) April 23, 2022
π€ We don't believe Tyson Fury when he says he will retire, but the question is, do you? pic.twitter.com/OMN2m5CEja
Fury: I think this is it
Fury had promised to walk away and retire from the sport whatever the outcome, but first tried to dodge the question in the ring, instead heaping praise on his corner.
"I also want to say, this man here SugarHill Steward, he's made me a great fighter. Years ago, I used to jib and jab, touch and slide... Sugar, what a legend you are, you made me the biggest puncher in the heavyweight division by a mile."
Pressed again by Steve Bunce, he added: "I promised my lovely wife, Paris, of 14 years, that after the Wilder 3 fight, that would be it. And I meant it. But I got offered to fight at Wembley, at home, and I believe I owed it to the fans. I owed it to every person in the United Kingdom.
"Now it's all done, I have to be a man of my word, and I think this is it. This might be the final curtain for the Gypsy King. What a way to go out."
There is π‘π’π§πππ‘π like a @Tyson_Fury walkout! π
β #FuryWhyte | Saturday | BT Sport Box Office π₯ (@BTSportBoxing) April 23, 2022
Watch #FuryWhyte | BT Sport Box Office βΆοΈ https://t.co/b0uV32kqC3 pic.twitter.com/KdZXIncLR2
