Long before his career took off for a second time, Tyson Fury was sent back to the drawing board in a series of warm-up fights — one of which against a former striking star.
Off the back of his heralded performance to dethrone Ukrainian icon Wladimir Klitschko, British star Tyson Fury was on top of the world and held the WBA, IBF, WBO, The Ring and IBO heavyweight championships.
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But behind closed doors, Fury was dealing with a host of issues in his personal life, including a high-profile battle with depression, as well as drug use and a positive test result for the banned substance nandrolone.
Eventually making a triumphant comeback, the Morecambe native made a rare trip to Northern Ireland to take on a lesser-known foe — kick-starting his bid to regain world championship spoils again.
Tyson Fury outclassed Francesco Pianeta to earn title shot
Initially fighting for the first time since his title success against Klitschko in a return against Sefer Seferi three years later, stopping the Albanian in the fourth round.
And in his next bout, Fury faced an Italian foe who initially transitioned to professional boxing following a fleeting career in Muay Thai on this day back in 2018.
Travelling to Windsor Park in Belfast, Fury earned a victory on points over the course of a dominant ten-round display, sending Francesco Pianeta into retirement. Pianeta had interestingly also shared the ring with Klitschko earlier in his career.
With his victory, Fury was on track for a championship return, kicking off one of the best rivalries and most iconic trilogies in recent boxing memory.
Tyson Fury’s trilogy series with Deontay Wilder
As part of a wholly active year, Morecambe puncher Fury would book an end-of-year clash for the undisputed WBC heavyweight title, taking on enormous knockout pugilist Deontay Wilder in the pair’s first of three clashes in the ring.
And turning in one of the most memorable comebacks in the sport’s entire history, Fury was sent to the canvas by a hellacious shot from Tuscaloosa native Wilder late in the fight, somehow returning to his feet to beat the referee’s ten count.
Fighting to an eventual split decision draw, Fury would once more meet Wilder two years later, setting up a rematch and subsequent trilogy bout.
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Handing the devastating knockout king his first professional loss — and likely spelling his recent downfall in the ring, Fury would stop Wilder in the seventh — before scoring an emphatic knockout in the penultimate round of their trilogy fight at the end of the same year.