Sunday, May 19, 2024 - Oleksandr Usyk has become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world after defeating British boxing star Tyson Fury in a fight earlier today, May 19.
The Ukrainian won on a split decision following the match in
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Usyk (22-0) added Fury’s WBC title to his own WBA, IBF
and IBO belts with a spectacular late rally highlighted by a ninth-round
knockdown in a back-and-forth bout between two previously unbeaten heavyweight
champs. Two judges favored Usyk, 115-112 and 114-113, while the third gave it
to Fury, 114-113.
Usyk started quickly, but then had to survive while the
confident, charismatic Fury dominated the middle rounds. Usyk rallied in the
final rounds, just as the Ukrainian Olympic gold medalist has done so many
times in his career, taking control with a dominant eighth and nearly stopping
Fury in the ninth.
Usyk hurt Fury (34-1-1) with a left hand and eventually sent
him sprawling into a corner in the final seconds of the round, getting credit
for a knockdown right before Fury was saved by the bell. Fury made it to the
10th, but he struggled to mount a consistent attack after nearly getting
stopped.
Fury disputed his loss after the match, saying:
“I believe I won that fight. I think he won a few rounds but
I won the majority of them. His country is at war, so people are siding with
the country at war. Make no mistake, I won that fight in my opinion.”
In response Usyk said he was "ready for rematch,"
but later added: “I don't think about rematch now, I want to rest.”
The 37-year-old Usyk is the first undisputed heavyweight
champion since Lennox Lewis held the honor for five months in 1999 and 2000. He
is also now the lineal heavyweight champion by beating Fury, who beat Wladimir
Klitschko to earn that distinction in 2015.
.jpg)
-overlay.jpg)
0 Comments