tape story
Here’s how the fighters will measure up ahead of tonight’s showdown. At yesterday’s weigh-in, Fury weighed in at 262 pounds, perhaps the best shape of his career, but following his dominant performance against MMA champion Francis Ngannou in a crossover fight in November. He was over 15 pounds underweight. Usyk weighed a career-high 223.5 pounds, two pounds heavier than Joshua’s second fight weight.
Fury’s 7-inch reach and 6-inch height advantage remain the biggest physical hurdles for Usyk, a former undisputed cruiserweight champion who has exceeded all expectations in his five fights at heavyweight.
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Fury’s advantages of seven inches of reach and six inches in height remain the most imposing physical obstacles facing Usyk, a former undisputed cruiserweight champion who has exceeded all expectations in five fights at heavyweight.
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Hello and welcome to Riyadh’s Kingdom Arena for tonight’s summit meeting between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk. There are big fights. There are blockbusters. And there are events like this one which promise to define an era. For the first time since the dawn of the millennium, after a quarter-century of fracture and dispute, boxing will have an undisputed heavyweight champion.
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Of the many well-documented reasons for boxing’s protracted retreat toward the periphery of the mainstream, the lack of clearly identifiable champions rates high on a competitive list. At one time the heavyweight championship of the world was the most prestigious title in sports, yet the lack of central authority has left us with four major sanctioning bodies that have served to create confusion among casual observers while devaluing the currency of a title.
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Fury has owned the WBC’s version of the championship since his stunning knockout of Deontay Wilder in the middle installment of their epic trilogy, while Usyk owns the WBA, IBF and WBO straps, having won them from Anthony Joshua and defended them in a rematch. Fury’s claim to the throne is arguably purer as the lineal champion from his 2015 win over Wladimir Klitschko – the man who beat the man who beat the man – the successor of a pedigree traceable all the way back to John L Sullivan (but for the retirements of Lewis, Rocky Marciano and Gene Tunney).
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The sport’s flagship division has long served as a bellwether for the popularity of fighting at large. As the heavyweights go, they say, so does boxing. For all the acclaim that awaits tonight’s winner, one could argue that a sport stands to gain even more.
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important events
The order of play is as follows: Hi Opetaia and Mairis Briedis enter the 10th round of a scheduled 12 round fight for the vacant IBF cruiserweight title. This is the last of the nine undercard matches on tonight’s card. Once that’s done, the countdown to the main event begins.
Fury and Usyk are said to be expected to perform their ring walk around midnight local time, or at noon, about 15 minutes from now. It feels a little early, but it shouldn’t take that long from there.
tape story
Here’s how the fighters will measure up ahead of tonight’s showdown. At yesterday’s weigh-in, Fury weighed in at 262 pounds, perhaps the best shape of his career, but following his dominant performance against MMA champion Francis Ngannou in a crossover fight in November. He was over 15 pounds underweight. Usyk weighed a career-high 223.5 pounds, two pounds heavier than Joshua’s second fight weight.
Fury’s 7-inch reach and 6-inch height advantage remain the biggest physical hurdles for Usyk, a former undisputed cruiserweight champion who has exceeded all expectations in his five fights at heavyweight.
preamble
Hello. Welcome to the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh for tonight’s summit between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk. There are also big fights. There are some big hits. And then there are events like this one that promise to define an era. After a quarter-century of fractures and conflicts, boxing will have an undisputed heavyweight champion for the first time since the dawn of the millennium.
Among the many well-documented reasons why boxing has long retreated toward the fringes of the mainstream, the lack of clearly identifiable champions accounts for a high percentage of the roster of competitors. Once upon a time, the World Heavyweight Championship was the most prestigious title in the sport, but the lack of central authority has left four major sanctioning bodies, devaluing the title’s currency and at the same time making it less popular among casual observers. has helped to cause confusion.
Fury has owned the WBC version of the title since his stunning KO of Deontay Wilder in the middle part of an epic trilogy, while Usyk won the WBA, IBF and WBO straps from Anthony Joshua. He owns it because he defended it in a rematch. Fury’s claim to the throne is perhaps purer as a lineal champion from his 2015 victory over Wladimir Klitschko, a heir to a lineage that can be traced back to John L. Sullivan (though the retired except). Lewis, Rocky Marciano, Gene Tunney).
This flagship division of the sport has long served as a bellwether for the popularity of martial arts in general. It is said that when the heavyweight division gets stronger, so does boxing. There’s plenty of accolades in store for tonight’s winner, but some would argue the sport stands to win even more.
Brian will be here soon. In the meantime, let’s take a look at the long and winding road leading up to tonight’s summit.
