Tonight, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Oleksandr Usyk defeated Tyson Fury by 12 round split decision in a great, dramatic fight that lived up to the hype. Winning via scores of 115-112, 114-113, with Fury getting the nod at 114-113 on the third card, Usyk is now the first ever four-belt heavyweight king.
Usyk improves to 22-0(14) with the biggest win of his career. Fury, losing for the very first time, is now 34-1-1(24).
It was a superb fight and at the end, Fury, who kissed Usyk on the head many times, had nothing but respect for his conqueror. Fury, however, did say he felt he won the fight – that the judges sided with Usyk because his country is at war. There is a rematch clause and Fury says he and Usyk will “run it back in October.”
It was a cagey affair tonight, at least in the early going. Usyk was the man on the front foot though, this a surprise to some. Fury did plenty of feinting, as well as a good deal of showboating, while southpaw Usyk was all business. By the middle rounds, Fury, so much the bigger man, began landing some hefty shots, to the body, and with his right uppercut to the head seeming to buzz Usyk.
It was looking like Fury’s show. But Usyk, a genuinely incredible fighter, had a strong round eight, while he then proceeded to knock Fury down in the ninth and then quite literally batter him all over the ring in the same torrid – for Fury – session. Fury was now busted up and bleeding. The fight could have been stopped, but ref Mark Nelson let it go and Fury survived, somehow, to make it back to his corner.
Fury was still game, and once again he showed amazing recuperative powers in a tough fight. Usyk continued to chase Fury, his zinging punches being thrown out to the end. Fury continued to look for a big shot to end it, but it never came.
A great fight, full of drama and switching momentums, and absolutely one we would all love to see again.
Has the Tyson Fury era ended, or can the 35 year old come again? 37 year old Usyk may well have cemented his place as one of the all-time greats.
