Oleksandr Usyk weighed in at a career-highest 221lbs on Friday – 55 pounds lighter than Tyson Fury – though while plenty was said in the build-up, whether it be judging replacements, rules meeting disputes and more drama besides, the Ukrainian did as he always does: win. Fury’s flashes of vigour and encouragement ultimately weren’t enough during their immediate rematch.
Usyk reigns supreme once more
- Frank Warren fumes as his man loses wide on all three scorecards: “How did he only get four rounds, it’s impossible. All different rounds, yeah [I thought he won], he’s very disappointed as I am as well, everyone along the front thought Fury won. I don’t get it, really disappointed with that, we’ll have to see what happens in the future. I thought he was in control, had Usyk on the back foot for most of the fight but it is what it is.”
- IBF world heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois storms into the ring – as he promised midweek – to confront Usyk and call for a rematch, 16 months removed from his controversial defeat in Wroclaw. Ukrainian obliges and asks Turki Alalshikh to make the rematch, though not before Dubois’ Feb. 22 assignment against former WBO titleholder Joseph Parker
- Undeniable: Usyk later tells press he wants an extended break from boxing after conquering heavyweight division during career-best 2024 campaign, insisting he still has the willpower to continue but wants to spend some much-needed time with his four children, wife Yekaterina
RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA — Into round 13 they went, all the mind games and background noise – loud and disruptive it was – now insignificant as a noticeably bigger Fury set about avenging a career-first defeat to make history.
Usyk was the aggressor early, Fury’s long levers doing enough to remind him of the dangers of sticking too long in the pocket, though the champion got the crowd buzzing for the first time with a four-punch combo pressing the Brit against the ropes. Usyk’s bobbing gave him a split step he utilised well, springing forward into Fury’s airspace to notch the first stanza as he did in May.
Usyk’s advances were met with sharper replies in the second, Fury whizzing air often but as he tried establishing a rhythm, the champion opposite him continued with his efforts to stay elusive. Fury took advantage of the ever-increasing space between them, pinging a one-two combination in the final 20 seconds to steal a close round.
Into the third then and Usyk bemoaned rabbit punching early after landing a one-two and getting an immediate reply. The referee ignored his complaints, Fury beckoning him forward and eventually, the Ukrainian obliged. Single shots were bouncing off Fury’s head, he flashed an overhand left that narrowly missed the target and Fury’s economical output wasn’t enough to edge another close round.
Usyk thrice stung Fury quickly around the halfway mark in the fourth, landing big lefts as the former champion’s southpaw stance switch quickly backfired. Pressing against his chest, Usyk kept his tight guard high and moved well as Fury’s negative defensive tendencies from their first meeting were again clear in that sequence.
The referee warned both about a clash of heads early on in round five, the pair flicking combinations before it became clear Fury’s left hand had begun finding a home on its intended target – digging in a beautifully disguised body shot with a minute left in the stanza, then being emboldened to press forward with more excellent work. Usyk fired back, though Fury’s work was better. Could he sustain it?
Early in the sixth, the Brit jabbed nicely but needed to maintain centre ring, rather than backpedal towards the ropes. Usyk connected on a flashy flurry with little over a minute left, twitchy and tiresome the champion was proving as he connected clean on a looping left and more haymakers landed to finish a nailbiting sixth.
Into the seventh, Usyk got off first with a left to the body and hooks to the head, power shots wearing on Fury now half-a-step backwards, rather than committing to his shots as he did earlier. Narrowly missing with a cuffing right, his left again found the target as you began questioning when the 6ft 9in tank would find a second wind.
“You’ve gotta steal the rounds, now it’s time to take over, you’re giving him too much break here, sit here in-front of you, gotta get the feints here,” SugarHill Steward and Andy Lee said in the Fury corner as he came out for the eighth.
Another headbutt caused a brief reprieve, Usyk pressing forward and banking subtle scoring shots downstairs before the referee separated them again. A three-punch combo worked well for Usyk in the final half-minute, Fury twitching and pawing at his face – just as he did in the first – another stanza banked for the champion.
Fury declared in the corner that he’d found his second wind in the ninth and dearly needed it, 6-2 or 5-3 down as they headed into the deep end.
If those energy reserves were recharging, he spent more time in the pocket holding, trying but failing to drain Usyk after getting away with a low blow – firing up the champion, who responded by buzzing him with a beautiful left.
Jostling for position in centre ring, Fury landed an uppercut before tying up many times to utilise his physicality, that extra weight to lean and grate on Usyk. Yet again, the champion timed his entries perfectly to have the final say in another close round. 8-2 or 7-3 in Usyk’s favour, Fury needed a big final six minutes.
Into the penultimate round, Usyk was quicker to the punch in close and didn’t discriminate – body-head-body shots, making Fury wince as he walked forward into more punishment, firing back but not enough to stop the Ukrainian from peppering him up against the ropes, as the crowd couldn’t help but exclaim. Fury’s replies, an uppercut and single shots, were well-intentioned but he needed more.
By the time round twelve came, Fury needed a hurculean effort, at least one knockdown, to swing this rematch in his favour. Instead backed up by Usyk’s bob-and-weave attacks, the Ukrainian danced around him and landed a big hook too. Both threw haymakers, aware time was running out and wanting to finish on top, Fury holding rather than hurrying his work and it felt like he knew this was futile.
Usyk, a year older and far more seasoned in moments like these against fellow world-class opposition, produced an even better showing than the one seeing him claim undisputed status in May and as I spoke to Barry Jones in the week, this was all predicated on the adjustments he continued to make, leaving Fury guessing.
Fury found wanting when he was needed most
The scorecards were more than fair from a bout Fury was clearly second best in, against an all-time great who has just boosted his legacy tenfold among rarefied air.
That he came in at 281lbs, 15lbs heavier than the first matchup, might’ve been well-intentioned but only hindered his performance as the movement wasn’t sharp and he only looked to make it gruelling late on.
From a neutral perspective, this should mean a Fury vs. Anthony Joshua clash at Wembley next summer should be easier to negotiate, neither having much leverage or a world title in hand any longer after being mastered by a career cruiserweight over 24 rounds apiece who changed the divisional landscape and how history will view these two British superstars in decades to come.
For now, Usyk can lap up more adulation worldwide and in his native Ukraine. There will always be someone new to box, a fresh-and-hungry contender everyone fancies to unseat a dominant champion who takes everything in stride and remains steely with a unified team alongside him for the ride. As I decided before travelling to Poland last summer, we can just enjoy the greatness while he’s here.
Picture source: Getty Images
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