RESULT: Oleksandr Usyk defeated Tyson Fury via split decision at the Kingdom Arena, Saudi Arabia. The scores were 114-113 and 115-112 for Usyk and 114-113 for Fury.
IMPORTANT TIMES: There are too many to count. Usyk landed a left hand in round one that immediately caught Fury’s attention. The same shot was there for him all night, as the body shot was for Fury.
The most important moment of all came in the ninth round when a badly injured Fury collapsed. He somehow succeeded. The question remains: should referee Mark Nelson stop the contest?
RECORDS: Usyk remains undefeated at 22-0 (14 KOs), while Fury suffered his first professional loss and dropped to 34-1-1 (24 KOs).
TALKING POINTS: Usyk seems to fight better when he is injured and/or tired. His hand speed was great at times, as was his choice of shots to the head and body.
Fury chose to stand up and hit the stick with his back to the ropes for most of the tournament. Was his box strategy and move smart? Whenever he stepped forward and used his size, success was evident.
Both men ended up with facial injuries. Usyk was cut in the morning, and Fury’s face was marked at the end. The decisions of the referee and the beating of the judges will be discussed again until the night as it often happens in this game.
(Getty Images)
QUOTABLE: “I am very thankful for my team, my family, for Jesus, my country,” said Usyk, who responded that a repeat is possible. “Of course, I’m ready for the rematch.”
Fury started slowly during his post-fight interview but ended up confused: “I believe I won that fight. We both fought well. His country is at war and people side with the country in wars,” he said.
“No disrespect to the referee, but he stole the KO in nine,” said Usyk’s promoter Alex Krassyuk.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT: There is a repeat clause, and both seem interested. Promoter Frank Warren went around this issue in the ring, saying it was up to Tyson Fury. It is difficult to negotiate with fighters after such a difficult fight. Taking repeated punches to the skull and trying to cobble together coherent, non-offensive responses is no easy task.
SUPPORTING CAST: Jai Opetaia defeated Mairis Briedis on points in their rematch. Anthony Cacace stunned Joe Cordina with an eighth-round TKO. Agit Kabayel stopped Frank Sanchez in the seventh round.
Mark Chamberlain finished Joshua Wahab in one round. Sergey Kovalev lost to Robin Safar over 10 rounds, and there was plenty more going on and talking points. We will look at all of them in greater depth in the coming days.
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