RIYADH, Dec. 21 — Ukraine's Oleksandr Usyk remained undefeated with a unanimous decision over Britain's Tyson Fury in a frenzied clash in a heated atmosphere at Kingdom Arena on Saturday. He held the WBA (super), WBO, and WBC world heavyweight titles.
Usyk, who had an advantage over his much larger opponent in terms of height, weight and reach, defeated Fury again after becoming the undisputed champion with his victory in May, finishing on all three judges' scorecards. They put up a great fight from beginning to end to win 116-112.
The 36-year-old Fury improved greatly from their first fight, where he withered in the ninth round, but could not solve the puzzle posed by the 37-year-old Usyk. A great move by Usyk that kept the Briton back for a long time. of the match.
Fury, who tipped the scales at a career-high 281 pounds (127 kg), 55 pounds (25 kg) heavier than Usyk, started at a high tempo and tried to control the center of the ring with a jab, but the Ukrainian fighter He counterattacked accordingly. Get inside and use combinations to get your opponent back on their feet.
By the fourth round, Usyk was starting to find the range of his left hand, but Fury adjusted as the fight ebbed and flowed, going hard to the body in the fifth round.
Fury appeared to be stung by a right hand to the body late in the sixth round, followed by a sharp left to the forehead, and by the seventh he slowed his pace, shifting to southpaw as he battled fatigue late in the round.
Fury relied on one and two hard shots to the body, but did little to stop Usyk's advances, usually ending flustered moves with a terrifying left hand.
Fury's strong start from 10th place didn't last, and Usyk quickly regained control of Angle, finishing the frame at a blistering pace and coasting through the final two rounds to take a convincing victory.
In his post-fight interview in the ring, Usyk was asked if he thought the scorecard was correct, and he shrugged.
“I won, that's good…I'm not a referee, I'm a sportsman, an athlete,” Usyk said, praising his sons, who had attended a judo match earlier Saturday.
Usyk was called out in the ring by Britain's Daniel Dubois, but won by ninth-round stoppage in August 2023 in controversial circumstances when Usyk's fifth-round knockdown was ruled a low blow.
Disappointed by the second loss of his professional career, the normally talkative Fury left the ring without saying a word.
