Oleksandr Usyk retained his heavyweight titles with victory by unanimous decision over Tyson Fury in Riyadh.
On a night that was expected to be defined by the finest of margins, the judges’ scorecards gave a relatively generous 116-112 in the Ukrainian’s favour – but Fury was punished for failing to capitalise on his more dominant rounds and there was little question over the ultimate result.
There was no daylight between them in the opening three rounds, Fury finally landing the first decisive blow with a deft uppercut that briefly rocked Usyk. With 217 days between the first fight and the rematch, this time Fury was initially able to assert his size advantage – four stone heavier at a career-record 281lbs – as he rocked the champion backwards on his heels.
Yet the same tricks that decided May’s bout still worked a charm, Usyk disarming with the body shot to open Fury up and wobbling him in the middle rounds. Even with swelling around the left eye, he continued to find his rhythm even as Fury inflicted some of his cleaner jabs.
As the sweat bounced off Fury’s face he could not help but tail off, the first chinks of serious vulnerability shining through. Usyk had all the urgency going into the final stages and sunk to his knees upon the final bell.
This was a far more disciplined Fury and he spent the second half of the fight having to block and frustrate, unable to stop the onslaught. His footwork was largely to blame for that and left him static.
Usyk had little time for any consternation over the scorecards, however, insisting: “I win, it’s good… thank you God.”
Daniel Dubois is poised to face him next, promptly making his way into the ring to demand a redo of their 2023 encounter, which he believed was a no-contest due to a controversial low blow – a claim rejected at the time by the WBA.
“Your excellency,” Usyk said on Sky Sports towards the Saudi hierarchy at ringside, “make me a fight with Daniel Dubois”. He went on to dedicate his win to his mother and to “all mothers in Ukraine”.
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