Oleksandr Usyk won his long-anticipated rematch with Tyson Fury in Riyadh on Saturday night as he retained his three world titles, and his unbeaten record. The two heavyweights fought a tough battle in Saudi Arabia, but it was the incumbent who triumphed on the judges’ scorecards after 12 exacting rounds. Attention could now turn to a trilogy.
Oleksandr Usyk won his rematch against Tyson Fury in Riyadh to retain his world championship belts.
The Ukrainian came into the match-up with the WBA, WBC and WBO belts after winning the first match in May.
Fury kept his distance in the first round, with his surprisingly heavy frame allowing him to dominate the middle of the ring.
Usyk had the best early attack, but Fury landed a heavy blow of his own, but neither man made a decisive impression early.
Fury returned to his corner and without John Fury’s presence, SugarHill Steward’s voice came over far more clearly than it had back in May.
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In the second round, Usyk attempted to take the initiative, as he had with the press for most of the build-up. The smaller man might have edged it, darting to his right to duck under Fury’s defence to strike his opponent, though Fury connected with some hearty body shots, and landed a full-blooded effort seconds from the bell that had Usyk reminded of the power of the man he was in with.
Usyk appealed to the ref at the opening of the third round for what he felt was a blow to the back of his head, but he got little encouragement. Fury showed his technical ability and confidence, with a brief switch to southpaw.
Fury targeted Usyk’s body – vulnerable in the past against Daniel Dubois when he was fortunate to be given the referee’s grace from a relatively low blow – early in the fourth, and Fury was holding his ground well. Usyk then sent an overhand left to rattle Fury’s jaw, recalling, only slightly, that ninth-round panic he felt back in May.
The fifth saw the pair clinch as the Ukrainian upped the pace, but Fury retained control of the ring centre, hitting Usyk’s body hard.
Approaching the end of the sixth round, Usyk clattered Fury with a heavy left, and followed up well to keep his opponent alive to the danger he posed.
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As the pair completed the seventh and eighth, it was still in the hands of both fighters – and the judges – before the arrival of the championship rounds.
Cheers greeted aggression from both men as the crowd looked for a stoppage rather than a decision, but they each gave as good as they got in the 11th, and the 12th round gave way to anticipation, before Usyk was given the nod.
In truth, Fury had failed to show that he deserved to dislodge the incumbent, and apart from an all-British extravaganza against Anthony Joshua, he may be tempted by retirement.
The result, barring a trilogy rematch that promoter Frank Warren has mentioned, may see a great modern rivalry settled. Fury and Usyk fought first in May. After Riyadh Season had launched as the home of boxing, it had finally found its most prestigious residents.
Before, during, and after the first fight – the fight that crowned the world’s first four-belt heavyweight undisputed champion – both men showed the other respect. It was too important to play it off as anything else.
Usyk knew that Fury dwarfed him by six inches, and several stones. The Ukrainian had the technique, but for much of his career, the Briton was something of a freak for his ring IQ and mobility despite his looming, outsize presence.
Of course, there were flashes of personality. The bonhomie in the lead-up to the first fight ended when Fury flipped his switch and demonstrated an aggression he had kept hidden, trying to admonish and intimidate his slighter opponent.
In the end, it did not matter. Usyk had ducked and weaved for much of his career, his playfulness out of the ring matched by his deftness in it. Similarly, Fury’s occasionally brutish approach had seen him battered by Deontay Wilder first, and then Francis Ngannou in Riyadh second. Both in their mid-thirties, but where one showed himself to be ragged and boisterous, the other was composed and ready. Usyk was dominated early, Fury was rattled late.
In the aftermath, though, neither fighter could conceal their respect. They had put on a magnificent display of boxing, both adroit and both human. Usyk had done his country proud against