Tyson Fury’s in ring performance against Deontay Wilder in their long awaited rematch was sublime. Yet, not only did Fury excel inside the ring, he did outside of it as well.
Fury entered the MGM Grand on a platform held up by four women dressed in gold. Rather than the same-old, up-tempo tune to get him and his supporters in the Vegas mood, the classic 1961 song ‘Crazy’ by Patsy Cline rang around the arena.
Fury walked off the platform and down the steps to reveal a black dressing gown. Despite being without a doubt the biggest fight of his career, the Brit showed absolutely no nerves at all; it was mesmerising.
After this, it got me thinking what are the most memorable ring-walks I’ve seen prior to this in my lifetime, these are my top five…
- Carl Froch vs George Groves 2
Groves’ most masterful stroke in this rematch came not in the ring, but outside it. Sure, he lost the fight, but he used the anticipated rematch to elevate himself from being a domestic level fighter to a crossover star even non-fighting fans knew about. His spectacular ring walk, complete with a reading of an epic passage from Shakespeare’s ‘Henry V’, Kasabian’s song ‘Underdog’ and an open top red bus sealed the deal and convinced the public he truly belonged in the top league.
- Wladimir Klitschko vs David Haye
The fight between Wladimir Klitschko and David Haye was massive, one of the biggest heavyweight fights in recent history. The build-up had been immense, and that was all due to Haye, a guy who’s a pro at trash talking and getting people interested.
But some of his antics in the lead-up to that fight were below the belt and extremely disrespectful to the Klitschko family. But it was all for the hype, and David certainly did his bit. On fight night itself, Klitschko, fighting in front of his home fans, put on a spectacular show.
Wladamir’s signature entrance song was the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Can’t Stop” as always. Blast that out in a packed arena in Hamburg, and you can imagine the type of response it’ll get. Then the theatre production they put on backstage must have taken as much preparation as the fight itself. Fireworks took off all around the Imtech Arena, the lights came on and illuminated the path for Klitschko to come to the ring and greet his fans. In typical Klitschko fashion he dominated the fight and won by Unanimous decision.
- Tony Bellew vs Illunga Makabu
For lifelong Everton fan Tony Bellew it was always a dream for him to fight at Goodison Park. This dream became reality in 2016 as Bellew fought Illunga Makabu for the vacant WBC Cruiserweight belt. A crowd of 15,000 attended as the Liverpool-born fighter walked out to Everton’s ‘Z-cars’ theme tune. Throughout the whole walk you could sense the pure emotion and joy in Bellew, as he even stopped halfway through to soak in the atmosphere.
Making the whole occasion even more special, Bellew produced a stunning knockout in the third round much to the joy and elation of the crowd, who were electric and deafening throughout. Everton fan or not, it’s hard not to appreciate just how special this ring walk was and you will struggle to find a more uplifting and emotional fight entrance to this day.
- Tyson Fury vs Sefer Sefer
Tyson Fury has never shied away from an eccentric pre-match performance, whether it be dressing up in a Batman costume in a press conference or pulling one of his humorous yet brutally honest interviews, and in his return fight back from suspension Fury certainly didn’t disappoint to put on a show for his loyal following.
Walking out to an explosive Manchester crowd, his hometown, he walked out to, ’Without me’ by Eminem followed by Afroman’s ‘Because I got high’, after admitting to taking Cocaine several times after the Klitschko fight. While the fight itself was embarrassing, the ring-walk made my viewing all worthwhile and made me, along with thousands of others realise how much the heavyweight division missed Tyson Fury.
- Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs Oscar De La Hoya
Floyd Mayweather Jr. is undoubtedly one of the greatest fighters who’s ever lived and is a big factor into why I’m a boxing fan to this day. To go your entire career unbeaten takes some doing and is a feat not many have accomplished. What made Mayweather so brilliant yet controversial is right from the start Mayweather knew he was good, better than the rest. Supremely confident, he knew how to get the job done and was super cocky about it, meaning he was targeted by tons of people.
But all the criticism just rolled off his back for the man known as “Money Mayweather”. Cinco de Mayo weekend (an annual Mexican celebration) in 2007 hosted the biggest fight of all time, as Mexican-American idol Oscar De LA Hoya faced Floyd Mayweather. Mayweather did the most galling thing possible by walking to the ring in a giant sombrero and trunks that matched the colour of the Mexican flag with world famous rapper 50 cent. Was the move flippant? Yes. Did it make me laugh? Absolutely.
Photo – Yann – Creative Commons Licence
