Oleksandr Usyk defeats Tyson Fury by unanimous decision in a thrilling rematch

By: Sean Crose

Tyson Fury took to the ring on Saturday in Saudi Arabia to the sound of Christmas music courtesy of Mariah Carey. By the time the imposing Englishman reached the ring, however, Carey’s voice had been replaced by Biggie Smalls’ music. It was all, to be honest, classic Fury. The former heavyweight singer, however, was not in Riyadh for a concert. He was there to win a battle for heavyweight dominance against the only man who had ever beaten him in the ring: WBO, WBC and WBA heavyweight titlist Oleksandr Usyk.

Moments later, the reigning champion came out with his rousing music. Wearing what could best be described to Western eyes as a turban, the Ukrainian maestro was one of pure intensity as he made his way to the ring. Entering the squared circle, Usyk knelt briefly in prayer in his corner. After Usyk got back to his feet, he and Fury had nothing left to do but fight.

And they fought.

Fury took a strong and aggressive approach early on, applying his jab regularly and looking to use his size to dominate his smaller foe. Usyk, however, used his masterful footwork to try and find openings to capitalize on. Usyk spent the second working the body at a rapid pace. Fury, however, managed to land and land hard at the end of the round. Indeed, Fury had a brilliant third, closing his jab and preventing Usyk from landing clean.

Usyk landed hard twice in the fourth. Fury didn’t appear injured, but he had been captured, which meant Usyk could land on him. Fury responded with a strong shot in the final seconds of the round. Fury hung in there and put his weight on Usyk early in the fifth. The Englishman then largely dominated the round. With this in mind, Usyk managed to land well before the bell rang.

Usyk then turned up the volume in the sixth, landing and landing well. Fury didn’t look as sharp as he had in previous rounds. Fury was rocked in the final thirty seconds of the round. He returned fire, but Usyk continued to come forward. The two division starters continued to pressure Fury in the seventh. Neither man threw punches in large numbers, but Usyk’s punches were better suited to count.

An inadvertent head butt briefly halted the action in the eighth, but neither appeared weakened. Usyk has become the more active of the two all-around fighters. He wasn’t able to land cleanly often, but he was able to dictate the pace throughout the chapter. Fury struck and held out effectively in the ninth. Usyk, however, put his punches together well in the final act of the round. The tenth was an extraordinary spectacle, in which each man had his moments. Fury held strategically as Usyk once again landed well at the end of the round.

Usyk’s use of effective aggression was the story of the eleventh. Sure enough, Fury began to look as if he was running out of strength. While Fury managed to land, Usyk landed more often. The final round was explosive, with each man landing hard and well. Then the judges’ decision…

…who ruled in favor of Usyk with a unanimous decision.

“I won. Thank you, God,” Usyk said afterward. In fact, Usyk seemed disheartened that he didn’t win by a wider margin in the judges’ scores.

A disappointed Fury had left the ring after the decision was read out, although his promoter, Frank Warren, had conveyed a sense of real disappointment himself and made it clear that he felt his man had been robbed by the judges.

“It’s up to him,” Warren said after being asked if Fury would fight again. “Obviously expectations are sky high.”