The Oleksandr Usyk-Tyson Fury rematch was announced on December 21
TURKI ALALSHIKH has announced that Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury will face off again on Saturday, December 21.
The rematch deal will take place seven months after their first fight in which Usyk was crowned the undefeated heavyweight champion after defeating Fury by split decision (114-113), 113-114, 115-112. Usyk’s victory took place at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh and the return fight will take place again in the capital of Saudi Arabia.
Alalshikh, the Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority, is the man responsible for bringing together boxing’s greatest players to create the best fights in the entire sport. And on May 18, history was made when Usyk became the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis defeated Evander Holyfield in 1999.
The fight between Undisputed Champion Oleksandr Usyk and Champion Tyson Fury is now scheduled for December 21, 2024 during the Riyadh Season…The world will watch yet another historic fight…Our dedication to boxing fans continues…We hope you enjoy it…🥊 🔥 🇸🇦
– TURKI ALALSHIKH (@Turki_alalshikh) May 29, 2024
The defeat was the first of Fury’s career and ended his four-year reign as WBC champion which included two impressive victories over Deontay Wilder and victories over Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora. Fury’s father, John, was involved in ugly footage at the start of fight week in Riyadh when the 69-year-old clashed with members of Usyk’s team before headbutting one of them, which left his face bleeding.
Those memories thankfully weren’t the biggest talking point of the week after his son’s efforts with Usyk in the ring. However, the Brit spent a lot of time floundering early on allowing Usyk to enter the fight. Fury roared and appeared to hurt Usyk to the body several times and caught the undisputed former cruiserweight champion with several clubbing shots. Usyk, who was caught kissing a cross in the corner for motivation, reached out to get himself back into the fight and in the ninth round he almost stopped ‘The Gypsy King’ but referee Mark Nelson stepped in and issued a standing count to a dejected Fury who did so. good that you don’t fall.
The momentum changed in the final round when Fury once again produced his fighting qualities to take the session on all three points.
What remains to be seen is whether all four titles will be on the line again. The IBF looked set to strip Usyk of his title due to his inability to face Filip Hrgovic’s long-time fight against Daniel Dubois on Saturday night (June 1). However, Usyk asked to be removed from the governing body so that his rematch with Fury could be an undisputed championship again.
