Oleksandr Usyk W12 Tyson Fury... In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Oleksandr Usyk made boxing history by becoming the first undisputed world heavyweight champion of the century. The Ukrainian Usyk pretty clearly outboxed Great Britain's Tyson Fury, although it was ruled a split decision. Boxingtalk scored it 115-112 for Usyk, who remains undefeated as a professional. Usyk was trailing at the midway point but turned the momentum back his way and knocked Fury down towards the end of round nine. Usyk added Fury's WBC title to the WBA, WBO and IBF versions he previously owned. Should Fury want a rematch to avenge his first pro loss, he has the contractual right to do so in October. An Olympic gold medal winner as well as undisputed world champion at cruiserweight and now heavyweight, Usyk has to be considered an all-time great.
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Top Rank, Fury's co-promoter wrote: "It looks like the two will do it again, as a rematch is tentatively planned for October. Usyk said, "Yes, of course. Rematch. I am ready!”
Fury said afterwards, “I believe I won that fight. I believe he won a few of the rounds. I thought I won a majority of them, and I believe it was a — what can you do — these are the decisions in boxing. We both put on a good fight, the best we could do. We go back, have a little rest up, spend some time with our families, and get it back on in October.”
Fury succeeded in the early rounds, peppering Usyk with right hands to the body. Just as it looked like Fury would add another notch to his Hall of Fame belt, Usyk stunned Fury with an overhand left in round nine that sent him reeling into the ropes. A series of power shots, punctuated by another sweeping left, sent Fury staggering near a neutral corner. Referee Mark Nelson called it a knockdown, and Fury rose gingerly to his feet as the bell sounded to end the stanza.
Fury somehow recovered, but the tide had turned. The 223-pound Usyk was pushing the pace against the 262-pound behemoth, winning the 10th and 11th rounds on two of the scorecards to secure the victory. Fury rebounded to win the 12th on all three cards, but it was too late. Usyk, a 2012 Olympic gold medalist, is now king of the heavyweight division.
