Where does Fury v Wilder II belong in the pantheon of classic heavyweight rematches?

One of the most anticipated rematches in boxing for many years gets underway on Saturday 22 February (Sunday 23 February in the UK) at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. It pits one of the hardest hitting heavyweights of all time, Deontay Wilder, against Tyson Fury — a giant of a man who moves like a middleweight and, if Wilder is to be believed, punches like one. However with Fury making clear his intention of going in to the rematch looking for the knockout, Wilder’s claim that his opponent lacks power is guaranteed to be tested, injecting an extra shot of intrigue into a fight that already contains the ingredients required to produce a classic.

And if a classic is indeed what does unfold, Fury v Wilder II will take its place among an illustrious litany of classic heavyweight rematches that pepper the sport’s history.

Let’s look back at some of them now.

Gene Tunney vs Jack Dempsey — 27 September 1927, Soldier Field, Chicago

Gene Tunney, The Fighting Marine, dominated the first fight the previous year in Philadelphia to win by unanimous decision. In the process he upset the odds against one of the most popular American icons of the roaring twenties, Jack Dempsey, whose gnarled and rough persona was the very opposite to…