Oleksandr Usyk Defeats Tyson Fury To Become Undisputed Heavyweight Champion

In Saturday night’s highly anticipated heavyweight bout at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Oleksandr Usyk defeated Tyson Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs) by split decision to win the vacant title.

It was a historic victory for Usyk as he joined Naoya Inoue and Terence “Bud” Crawford as the only three male boxers to have won undisputedly in two weight divisions. In addition to the incredible feat, Usyk also became the first undisputed heavyweight champion in four belt time.

In the opening round of the undefeated, undefeated, untitled world championship, Fury came out reeling. Usyk was pressing forward, moving from side to side, and constantly throwing shots to the body.

Usyk started the second round with a big left shot. Usyk continued to target the body while Fury threw the occasional jab and right hand. At the start of the fourth round, Fury connected several combinations. After being accidentally hit in the head, Fury fell onto a sharp road.

Fury focused on Usyk’s body in the fifth round as he landed multiple rights to the body. Tyson Fury was in full control of the sixth round as he connected with a right hand, a big uppercut, and sharp shots to the body.

Southpaw Oleksandr Usyk answered in the 7th round as he was able to connect regularly with his left hand. In the 8th round, Usyk seemed to find his range as he continued to hit the target with a left.

Usyk landed a big left hand in the ninth round that knocked Fury off balance. Usyk was on the attack as he hit a bunch of energy shots. Fury’s chin was like granite, but his legs were losing strength as he moved around the ring from corner to corner.

As he continued to be hit after shot, Fury fell to the ropes and the referee called it a knockdown. Fury was given a standing 8 count, and seconds later Tyson Fury was saved by the bell.

Fury was able to recover and return to his offense, but over time, Usyk became the boxer who landed the clean punches that drew attention.

After twelve rounds of boxing, one judge scored Fury 114-113, but that card was overturned by two other judges who scored it 115-112 and 114-113 in favor of Usyk.

Oleksandr Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) earned the biggest win of his career as he dedicated the win to his late father. By defeating Fury, Usyk became the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis held the title in 1999.

Ukrainian boxer, Oleksandr Usyk, is a former cruiserweight king, the current king of the heavyweight division, and perhaps the favorite to be labeled the pound-for-pound king of boxing.