Oleksandr Usyk won the rematch of his heavyweight championship against Tyson Fury by unanimous decision on Saturday, remaining undefeated in both divisions and cementing his place among the greats.
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The Ukrainian, who dictated the pace and hit Fury several times with his precise left hook, was awarded victory this Saturday in Saudi Arabia, in favor of the judges who all scored the debates 116-112. At the same time inflicting his second defeat in a row on Fury. Usyk’s victory brings him to 23-0 with 14 knockouts and extends one of the best careers of all time that includes Olympic gold and the undisputed crossweight champion title.
“ He’s a great fighter, it’s a great performance said Usyk, 37, of Fury, who was undefeated in 35 fights until losing their four-belt unification bout in May. Only the WBA, WBO and WBC belts were at stake this time after Usyk, focused on the lucrative rematch, relinquished his IBF title rather than face challenger Daniel Dubois.
By defeating Fury seven months ago, “ The Cat » had already joined Muhammad Ali, Joe Louis and Mike Tyson as the undisputed heavyweight, and the first of the four-belt era. And on the Fury side, the defeat opens an uncertain future for the 36-year-old, with a record of 34-2-1, who had already announced his retirement in 2022 before changing his mind and returning to the ring.
Usyk finished better
Fury, dressed in a red and white Santa-style dress and sporting a bushy beard, appeared on the song All I Want For Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey, before a determined-looking Usyk appeared in Cossack outfit. The jab from the Briton (206 cm) initially kept Usyk at bay at the start of the fight, before the latter hit him with a surprising right in the second round. Then the Ukrainian hit the Briton head-on with a left as he increased the pace in the third round.
The two men remained neck and neck until the end of a very testing fifth round, during which Fury delivered strikes to the body while Usyk launched a burst to the head. The latter, in great shape and known for taking things in hand in the final rounds, was aggressive in the seventh, sending a clean hook to his opponent while he was already on the back foot.
Fury regained the initiative in the ninth round, wielding his jab and one-two combinations and leaning on the Ukrainian at 127 kilograms, the heaviest fighting weight of his career. A gain of confidence quickly stopped by the Ukrainian in the 11th round, thanks to a terrible combination, concluded with a left hook to the face. And this, before he completed the last round with an uppercut to the chin, a few minutes before being declared the winner.