On Saturday night time, December twenty first, on the Kingdom Area in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the undefeated WBO, WBA, WBC, world heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk defeated Tyson “The Gypsy King” Fury for a second time and solidified his spot because the pound-for-pound king, and the most effective heavyweight of this period.
Tyson Fury got here into the rematch well-prepared, as he was targeted on executing his sport plan. Fury began the bout with an adjustment he comprised of the primary combat, however regardless of the adjustment, on the finish of the competition, Usyk was as soon as once more declared the winner.
Oleksandr Usyk gained his first world title again in September 2016 when he defeated Krzysztof Glowacki by way of unanimous resolution and gained the WBO cruiserweight title. Two years later, Usyk grew to become a unified champion when he beat Mairis Briedis and gained the WBC strap.
Usyk would go on to make historical past by defeating Murat Gassiev and accumulating the WBA and IBF world title belts. With the victory, Oleksandr Usyk grew to become the primary undisputed cruiserweight champion of the four-belt period. Usyk additionally grew to become the primary cruiserweight to go undisputed since Evander Holyfield did it 30 years prior, again in 1988.
Whereas Usyk was dominating the cruiserweight division, a trio of boxers had been jocking for place as boxing followers had been attempting to determine which one would turn into king of the heavyweights. Tyson Fury was the boxer, Anthony Joshua was the favored boxer-puncher, and Deontay Wilder was often called the knockout artist.
Fury and Wilder would face one another in December 2018, because the entertaining bout led to a split-decision draw. Again in February 2020, Fury gained the rematch, and it appeared that he was able to separate himself and turn into the highest heavyweight. Nevertheless, a yr later, a wild card made his formal introduction to the division.
On September 25, 2021, Oleksandr Usyk made a press release when he defeated the face of the heavyweight division, Anthony Joshua, by a unanimous resolution and gained the WBA, IBF, and WBO titles. Joshua was higher ready for the second combat, however he fell quick once more, as Usyk gained the rematch by way of cut up resolution.
Usyk went on to combat Daniel Dubois, and he stopped him within the ninth spherical. Subsequent on Usyk’s agenda was the possibility to make historical past when he stepped contained in the ring in Might 2024 to face the undefeated WBC world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.
Usyk was the aggressor as he compelled Fury to combat off the again foot. On the conclusion of the 12-round contest, Oleksandr Usyk gained by the use of a cut up resolution. With the victory over Fury, Oleksandr Usyk made historical past by changing into the third male boxer to go undisputed in two weight courses.
Seven months later, the extremely anticipated rematch passed off. Early on within the combat, Fury confirmed an adjustment as he was urgent ahead and being the aggressor. Nevertheless, because the combat went on, the southpaw Usyk was capable of reclaim the function of the aggressor as he pressed ahead and constantly landed onerous left-hand pictures.
When the match ended, Oleksandr Usyk was as soon as once more declared the winner, as all three judges scored the bout 116-112 in favor of Usyk. With the victory, Usyk beat each Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury twice.
With the 4 complete wins in opposition to Joshua and Fury, and the victory over Daniel Dubois, Oleksandr Usyk has confirmed himself to be the present primary pound-for-pound fighter on the planet and the most effective heavyweight of this period.
With the mix of his boxing expertise, footwork, timing, punch placement, and ring intelligence, the unified world heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk (23-0, 14 KOs) is a matchup nightmare.
The 37-year-old Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk has formally conquered the heavyweight division, and now the query is, will he keep at heavyweight or make a return to the cruiserweight division?
