Tyson Fury and the Versace robe curse
The Versace robe curse was broken by Tyson Fury on the 9th of October after he pulverized Deontay Wilder in their trilogy bout
Tyson Fury prevailed in a new-age classic against Deontay Wilder when the pair faced off in a trilogy bout on the 9th of October. A stunned 15,820 people at the T-Mobile Arena looked on, as Fury and Wilder exchanged knockdowns in the early rounds.
As the fight progressed, Fury began asserting his authority, especially in rounds 9 and 10. After having executed one knockdown lesser than Wilder, Fury knocked Wilder down for the second time in round 10. It is worth noting that, Fury had suffered a 10-7 round (RD-4) against Wilder, early on in the fight.
Once Fury got the knockdown in round 10, he began sensing a finish, and boy did he do it in style. Wilder was left flat on the canvas in round 11, even as the referee failed to waste time in even counting him down (to 10). A splendid KO win for ‘The Gypsy King.’
Tyson Fury sported a Versace robe ahead of the fight
Fury was seen sporting a black Versace robe ahead of his trilogy fight against Wilder. Knowing the history of the cursed robe, a legion of fans expressed their concern fearing that the Mancunian might end up losing the fight. And at one point (Round 4) it looked like their fears might become a reality, when Wilder knocked Fury down twice.
‘The Gypsy King’, shook it off with ease, and came back a stronger man in the succeeding rounds, and finally got the finish, eventually breaking the Versace robe curse.
The Victims of the Versace robe curse
Conor McGregor
It all started when Conor McGregor wore a custom made Versace robe ahead of his boxing debut against Floyd Mayweather in August 2017. During an open training and workout, just a fortnight prior to the MayMac fight, McGregor was seen telling the reporters about how Donatella Versace had got it done for him with his name on it.
‘The Notorious’ ended up losing the fight after Mayweather scored a 10th round TKO win, thereby setting the Versace robe curse undertone.
Jorge Masvidal
UFC 246, a number of MMA stars were in attendance at the T-Mobile Arena to witness Conor McGregor’s return. And one among them was UFC welterweight Jorge Masvidal. And, ‘Gamebred’ was seen sporting the exact same robe McGregor was seen wearing in 2017. However, it was sans name at the back.
Masvidal went on to lose his next fight at UFC 251, against Kamaru Usman. In fact, Masvidal has not won a fight since then. He lost to Usman once again, at UFC 261 – this time he was knocked out cold.
Israel Adesanya
In early 2021, a soaring Israel Adesanya decided to move up a weight class, after having dominated the middleweight division to the fullest. He was set to challenge the then newly-crowned light-heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz at UFC 259.
In an interview just days before the fight, Adesanya came dressed up in a similar black Versace robe. Many predicted the worse, and they turned out to be right, after Blachowicz dominated Izzy on the ground, eventually handing him his first L of his MMA career.
Billy Joe Saunders
A previously undefeated Billy Joe Saunders faced Canelo Alvarez on the 8th of May, 2021, in a bid to topple the Mexican off his perch. BJS was 30-0 coming into the fight, and was confident about getting the job done. Just a few days before the fight, he was parading around in the black Versace robe, sitting down for numerous interviews in the same.
Alvarez handed BJS a bad beat down, forcing BJS’ corner to retire after the conclusion of round 8. Saunders had his orbital bones shattered and was struggling to even see with his eyes.
All the men listed above were at the top of their game when they sported the Versace robe. McGregor in 2017, was as dangerous as ever. Masvidal was coming off a big win over Nate Diaz at UFC 244, Adesanya and Saunders had never lost a single fight prior to that.