Fury returned in his first meaningful bout since losing his way after dethroning long-time champ Wladimir Klitschko and put on a masterful performance outside his two moments of carelessness that put him on his backside.
Wilder proved again he has the most dangerous hands in the sport by eking out a draw in a fight he was largely outboxed courtesy of two incredible shots that floored Fury.
Neither man appeared overly disappointed with the draw — one judge awarded the fight to Wilder 115-111, one had it 114-110 to Fury and the other had it a 113-113 draw — although they both claimed victory.
But the rest of the boxing world? They weren't as forgiving.
Former champions Lennox Lewis and Andre Ward blasted the judge who found another five rounds for Wilder outside of the two he scored knockdowns. And they weren't alone.
Fury's trainer Ben Davison carried the rage into an interview with BBC Radio 5 live.
"Floyd Mayweather's walked out this arena disgusted, that says it all, you know to take something away from someone that's come from hell and back, to ruin the biggest comeback in boxing history, probably in sporting history, that is a disgrace," Davison said.
"Honestly disgraceful. Everybody in boxing knows Tyson's story and we weren't asking for any bias, we wanted and fair crack of the whip, that's all we asked for from start to finish and we haven't got that."
Mayweather was interviewed by Showtime after the seventh round and had Fury up 7-0.
He could only shake his head after the result was read out.
In the main, most of the complaints over the scoring came from Fury's side.
But the American commentator calling the fight was staggered anyone had it for the challenger.
While waiting for the official scorecards, he said: "Even in a loss, Tyson Fury remains a massive attraction."
Fair to say he was stunned when the draw was announced. "What!" he cried. "A split decision draw! Are you kidding me? A draw? Deontay Wilder was robbed tonight. He was robbed — two knockdowns — are you kidding me? A draw?"
Fury vs Wilder punch stats and judges scorecards
CompuBox punch statistics
Wilder landed 71 of 430 shots (17 per cent)
Fury landed 84 of 327 (26 per cent).
Judges scores
Alejandro Rochin, of Mexico, 115-111 for Wilder
Robert Tapper, of Canada, 114-112 for Fury
Phil Edwards, of UK, 113-113 draw
The Telegraph (Gareth A Davies) 115-110 Fury
