LAS VEGAS • Blood was flowing down Tyson Fury's right cheek, and Otto Wallin was in his face.
His scheduled rematch with Deontay Wilder suddenly in jeopardy, the 30-1 favourite needed to dig deep in a fight that was not supposed to be this hard.
Fury did just that on Saturday night, overcoming two bloody cuts over his right eye to pound out a unanimous decision over his Swedish opponent, setting up another clash with the undefeated American heavyweight champion.
But the Briton, who is unbeaten in 29 fights, admitted after retaining his lineal heavyweight title that he had to dig deep against a "Viking warrior".
"I couldn't see out of my eye," Fury said. "I got cut over my eye and it changed the fight completely."
With blood streaming down his face, Fury dominated from the middle rounds on in what was supposed to be little more than a tune-up fight for his scheduled Feb 22 rematch with Wilder.
He suffered the bad cuts in the third round from a Wallin punch, and it clearly bothered him as the fight went on as he was unable to stem the blood flow, which stained his trunks.
Referee Tony Weeks stopped the bout in the sixth round for the ringside doctor to look at the eye. When the fight resumed, Fury fought at a quicker pace, seemingly realising he might be running out of time.
With renewed determination, he kept the pressure on Wallin the rest of the way to hand him his first defeat and cement a huge payday against Wilder, whom he fought to a draw last December.
Calling out his rival at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, he said: "Deontay, I want you next. Now, I'm going home to relax with the family."
However, it remains to be seen if their rematch will be postponed after his promoter Frank Warren told the BBC that it was dependent on how well the cuts would heal.
He said: "If it doesn't, the fight may have to be pushed back. It's (also) the training and sparring. He has to be 100 per cent right."
Fury, who earned a reported US$12 million (S$16.4 million) on the night, was later taken to a local hospital and Warren revealed he had arranged for a "plastic surgeon to... stitch his eye".
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