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Oleksandr Usyk remained undefeated as he successfully defended his undisputed heavyweight belt with a unanimous decision over Tyson Fury on Saturday night in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Judges Gerardo Martínez, Patrick Morley and Ignacio Robles had identical cards in favor of Usyk, 116-112.
Usyk landed 179 of the 423 (42 percent) punches thrown, while Fury (34-2-1, 24 KOs) landed just 144 of the 509 punches he threw, 28 percent.
When asked if he agreed with the judges’ scores, Usyk implied that it wasn’t his place to question, just to box. “I win, it’s good,” said Usyk (23-0, 14 KOs). “It’s not my deal. I win. Thank you, God.”
The highly anticipated rematch of a May fight in which Fury suffered his first loss lived up to expectations from the moment the boxers entered the arena.
Usyk’s team asked the Middle East Professional Boxing Commission during Friday’s rules meeting to order Fury to trim his beard before their rematch for the unified heavyweight championship.
He had a beard as thick as Santa’s less than a week before Christmas, but the 36-year-old walked around unshaven and wearing a bright red Christmas robe with Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas is You accompanying his walk. towards the ring.
After Fury opened the fight with a fairly fast pace and controlled the first two rounds, Usyk responded in the third and fourth rounds by working the body while sliding occasional power combinations to the head.
Fury landed several big shots in the fifth round, but Usyk’s left hand was the story in the sixth, staggering his bigger, taller opponent twice.
In the second half of the fight, it became evident that carrying the extra weight was wearing down Fury, as the pace began to catch up to him while Usyk’s calmness and patience worked in his favor. Usyk’s ability to come in, attack quickly, and damage Fury with stinging combinations was the difference.
Feeling the pressure, an energetic Fury came out firing in the tenth, intimidating Usyk throughout the round. Usyk kept him at bay at times with a steady jab, while a hook from Fury scored late.
Usyk’s speed came to life again in the 11th, launching devastating combinations to Fury’s head to keep him at bay.
The two exchanged flurries of punches in the final round, Fury hoping to make one last impression on the judges while Usyk looked for an exclamation point.
Turki Alalshikh, president of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, announced on X (formerly Twitter) earlier in the week that an experimental AI judge would also return results. The innovative virtual system has Usyk winning, 118-112.
Fury, now 5-1 in rematches, left the ring immediately after the result was announced, but later told reporters in the locker room: “I thought I had won it by at least three rounds. “I sent the fight.”
Speaking at the press conference, sporting a bruised right eye, he added: “I thought I had won both fights, but now I have two defeats on my record, so there’s not much I can do about it.
“I can fight with all my heart and do my best. But I will always believe until the day I die that I won that fight.”
This time there were only three belts up for grabs after the IBF stripped Usyk for not facing his mandatory challenger, Daniel Dubois.
Dubois interrupted Usyk’s post-fight interview, snatched his microphone and demanded a rematch of their fight on August 26, 2023. Usyk won by ninth-round knockout.
“I want my revenge, Usyk,” Dubois said. “Well done tonight, but I want my revenge.”
Usyk complied, telling the powers that be present: “Your Excellency, make me fight Daniel. Thank you so much.”
