With his victory over Fury, Oleksandr Usyk nailed himself as one of the greatest boxers of the 21st century, writes Urheilu’s journalist Joel Holma.
Joel Holma sports reporter
One of the biggest boxing matches of the 2000s got the thrill it deserved on Sunday morning Finnish time in Saudi Arabia, when the superstars Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury faced each other in a tense match.
The winner would become the first undisputed heavyweight champion in 25 years. Before the match, neither of them had ever lost as a professional.
The Ukrainian Usyk’s situation looked difficult for a while against the British Fury. Over two meters tall, Fury pressured many sets with his versatile punches and reach. It seemed that Usyk could no longer get a good grip on the Briton.
In round nine, Usyk landed a hard left hand straight that caused Fury to wobble and almost crash to the canvas. True to his style, Fury fought upright until the end, but Usyk was on top of the situation for the rest of the match and won by unanimous decision.
Two of the judges declared victory for Usyk with scores of 115–112 and 114–113. A third would have given Fury a 114-113 win.
After the scattered verdict, Fury acted like Muhammad Ali in 1971 after his first loss.
Fury thanked Usyk for a good match, but the defeat was hard to swallow.
– I believe I won the match. He won a few rounds, but I won most of them,” Fury declared after his loss.
– His country is at war, so people are on the side of the country at war, Fury continued.
Also Fury’s promoter at the press conference after the match Frank Warren referred to the controversial judgment.
The verdict was completely correct: Usyk was just a hair better than Fury. The judges did not give the Ukrainian Usyk any sympathy points.
If he wanted to, Usyk could attack Fury verbally: the Briton was so over the moon in the 9th round that another judge might have stopped the match and given Usyk a knockout victory.
The ring judge also gave Fury a count down in a special way and eight seconds to recover, even though the Briton did not go to the canvas.
37-year-old Usyk’s balance as a boxer is now staggering.
As an amateur, Olympic victory, World Championship and European Championship gold. Former Undisputed Light Heavyweight Champion. The first undisputed heavyweight champion in 25 years.
Only wins as a pro (22), totaling 11 title defenses when counting both weight classes.
What further increases Usyk’s value as a boxer is the fact that he has been able to defeat top-fit heavyweight superstars Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. Fury was indeed in full swing in Saudi Arabia, but still lost.
Usyk can now be considered one of the toughest boxers of the 21st century. He goes into the same caste, for example Floyd Mayweather, Canelo Alvarez’s, by Terence Crawford and Ukrainians Vasyl Lomachenko and Wladimir Klitschko with.
Such analyzes are still not on Usyk’s mind now.
Usyk, moved after the match and proudly carrying the Ukrainian flag, is an icon in his home country. In a country at war, millions of people were excited for their biggest sports star.
– The Ukrainians are hitting hard! And in the end, all our opponents will fall, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi declared on social media after Usyk’s victory.
Usyk’s victory is above all a spark of hope for Ukrainians.