On Saturday 1st December, Tyson Fury was robbed of the greatest comeback in the history of boxing when his bout with Deontay Wilder was ruled a draw in controversial circumstances at Staples Center in Los Angeles.
At least, that's the opinion of countless boxing legends including Lennox Lewis - who has first-hand experience of such injustice - Floyd Mayweather, who reportedly left the arena "disgusted" by the outcome of the fight, and Paulie Malignaggi , who was beside himself in the immediate aftermath of the bout as he provided insights for Showtime boxing.
It was the decision of one judge in particular that rankled most with boxing fans, Alejandro Rochin, who scored the fight 115-111 in favour of Wilder, a decision that baffled almost everyone who watched on. As Fury explained;
“It’s stuff like this that gives boxing a bad name.
“All the media today have been reporting about how it was a controversial fight. Everyone in boxing has said it’s a controversial thing and time and time again we see it. Take nothing away from Wilder who is a great champion but I thought I won the fight, comfortably. But we had a draw and we will try to get that rematch.
“Put it this way. If I didn't get knocked down twice in that fight, on one of the referee’s scorecards I would still have lost. So he needs banning from boxing forever because he can’t judge, clearly.
“But I will not let the decision take away what a good performance this was. I was happy to be part of a fantastic fight and I couldn't have done any more, neither could Wilder. You can't help but get caught and you can’t go swimming without getting wet.”
Indeed, Fury deserves huge credit for how magnanimous and level-headed he remained in the immediate aftermath of the bout, the disappointment and sense of injustice must have been huge. He later said that he was keen to avoid ugly scenes inside Staples Center, and moved to de-escalate the situation.
The fight itself, and his immediate reaction, are a testament to Fury's heart and character, but it's the news that he will be donating his entire purse from the fight with Wilder - a reported $10m - to the poor and homeless that should really be shouted about.
Before the bout with Wilder, Fury said, per BBC Sport;
"When I go home I'm going to build some homes for the homeless and set up some funds for drug addicts and alcoholics
"I was always going to do it but being here (in California) gives me that extra push to go and do it even more."
Fury, who spent a nine-week training camp in California ahead of the fight, is said to have been struck by the level of homelessness in California;
"It has really opened my eyes to a lot of things and I'm leaving as a better person.
"It's opened my eyes to see so many different cultures, so many different things happening and going on.
"There are a lot of homeless people on the streets here, more than I've ever seen ever in my life. I'm staying in downtown LA but if you go five minutes down the road there's like - I don't know - thousands of homeless people.
"You think you might be in a third world country but it's a crisis situation and something needs to be done about it.
"I'm just an outsider with an opinion but it's a situation that is happening all over the world, especially in the UK as well."
And he told the Irish Mirror;
"I'm going to give it to the poor and I'm going to build homes for the homeless.
"I don't really have much use for it, I'm not interested in becoming a millionaire or a billionaire."
Assuming Fury makes good on his pledge, this is yet another chapter in the book of Tyson Fury's astonishing road to redemption.
