Unbeaten British fighter Fury stopped the American in the seventh round to win the WBC title, The Ring magazine belt and maintain his status as the lineal champion of the heavyweight division.
It’s reported that Wilder has 30 days to activate a rematch clause for a third fight against the new champion, but British boxing fans are keen to see Fury and Anthony Joshua step into the ring for a unification bout.
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The Sun says “belt up - we’re in for a wild ride” while the Daily Express reports that if WBC holder Fury and WBA, IBF and WBO champ Joshua do line up a super-fight it would be the “biggest single sporting event in Britain since England won the World Cup in 1966”.
When asked about his next opponent “Gypsy King” Fury said: “I’ve got another old fella [Joshua] across the pond who might want a little tickle. Then that is it then. It’s completed. Done.”
Speaking for boxing fans across the UK, the Daily Mirror urges the heavyweight stars and their promoters to “get it on”.
A superimposed picture of the two fighters was posted on Twitter by broadcaster DAZN USA and Eddie Hearn, Joshua’s promoter, also tweeted: “No need for a third let’s go straight to it in the summer! #undisputed.”
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Awesome England or awful Ireland?
England’s win over Ireland makes many of the back pages with the papers unanimous that Eddie Jones’s side are back on track in the Six Nations.
“Turbo-charged England back to their best” is the headline in The Times, while The Daily Telegraph leads with “redemption day”.
i Sport singles out fly-half George Ford for his role in steering England to a 24-12 win at Twickenham yesterday, although are the newspapers guilty of hyperbole?
It was a very poor performance from Ireland with the visitors gifting their opponents two tries in the first half, to trail 17-0 at the break. But nonetheless they actually out-scored the home side in the second period as they scored a couple of tries of their own, and England’s reluctance to push for a fourth try and an offensive bonus point was odd.
Nonetheless, the papers are satisfied. “Eyes on the prize” is The Guardian’s headline, alongside a photo of a beaming Ford, and the paper claims that England remain in contention for the Six Nations title.
Now second in the table, England are four points adrift of France who are the only unbeaten side after their impressive victory against Wales on Saturday.
The French visit Scotland in a fortnight before finishing their campaign in Paris against Ireland and judging by their form so far in the championship Les Bleus are on course to clinch their first grand slam since 2010.
Daily Mirror and the Daily Star both quote Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after the Norwegian’s effusive praise of striker Anthony Martial.
The French frontman produced a delightful chip to score the second of United’s three goals in their 3-0 win against Watford yesterday, a victory that moves the Red Devils into fifth spot in the Premier League and within sight of a Champions League place next season.
Martial has now scored in his last three games and Solskjaer said of him: “He’s had a great week. Today the mind-blowing skills. I want more from him and I’ll keep at him.”
Rudiger: racism won
The Guardian and the Daily Express carry the comments of Chelsea centre-back Antonio Rudiger after learning that no one was punished for allegedly racially abusing him at Tottenham in December.
The Guardian reports that the Metropolitan Police investigated Rudiger’s claims but found “no evidence to support his complaint”. The paper adds that some Tottenham fans have accused the German of lying and booed him when the two sides met at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, a match that the Blues won 2-1.
“It’s sad,” Rudiger said of the jeers. “I don’t know why they would. Maybe it’s because I voiced about the racism. If you boo me because of that then you are poor people. I am sorry. This is a sign that we have a very big problem… for me, in this case, racism won.”
Today’s sport headlines
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