Ukrainian world heavyweight champion according to the WBA, WBO, WBC and IBO, Oleksandr Usyk, and British boxer Tyson Fury held their first press conference before the rematch for the world heavyweight title, the meeting took place in London on Wednesday, October 23, reports Suspilne Sport.
Usyk appeared in front of the audience in the image of “Hitman” from the popular media franchise. He took the stage with a briefcase containing posters of his fight against Fury – the Briton signed them at the request of his opponent.
When asked about his motivation before the rematch, the Ukrainian explained: “Only my regimen, my concentration is my motivation. That’s enough”.
Fury, for his part, reminded that the Briton has won all the rematches in his career so far. The former WBC champion hopes to be composed in the second fight with Usyk and rehabilitate himself for his debut defeat.
It is reported that the second fight between Usyk and Fury will take place on December 21 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Three major heavyweight titles will be at stake: the WBC, WBA, and WBO versions.
The repeat fight between boxers Oleksandr Usyk (Ukraine) and Tyson Fury (UK) will take place on December 21 in Saudi Arabia, the head of the Saudi Arabian General Authority for Entertainment Affairs, Turki Al-Al-Sheikh, has confirmed.
“Fury vs. Repeat… 21-12-2024,” Al-Ash-Sheikh wrote on Friday on the social network X.
As reported, on May 19, Usyk defeated Fury in the first-ever fight for the title of absolute world heavyweight champion in the four-belt era. Usyk defended the WBA, WBO, and IBF championship belts and took away the WBC title that belonged to Fury.
Already on May 21, promoter Frank Warren confirmed that Fury intends to rematch with Usyk after losing the fight for the absolute world heavyweight champion.
Against Fury, Usyk will defend his newly acquired WBC belt, which has belonged to the Briton since the beginning of 2020. He will be defending his WBA and WBO titles for the third time after moving up to the super-heavyweight category.
The IBF belt, which Usyk won in his first fight with Anthony Joshua, will be stripped from the Ukrainian because he failed to defend it in time as required by the organization. Filip Hrgovic of Croatia and Daniel Dubois of the United Kingdom will compete for the vacant title.
Until now, Usyk has only once made immediate rematches in professional boxing – against Anthony Joshua in the heavyweight division. The first fight in 2021 ended in a unanimous decision in favor of the Ukrainian, and the second fight in 2022 was a split decision.
The fight for the title of absolute world champion between British Tyson Fury and Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk, which took place on Sunday night in Riyadh, ended in victory for the Ukrainian boxer.
Usyk defeated Fury by split decision (115-112, 114-113 and 113-114).
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko congratulated Usyk on his victory.
This is the first-ever fight for the title of absolute world heavyweight champion in the era of four belts. Usyk defended the WBA, WBO, and IBF championship belts and tried to take away the WBC title that belonged to Fury.
Usyk started the fight more actively. Fury allowed the Ukrainian to strike at him, although he missed a left to the temple in the end.
During the first half of the fight, the boxers did not change their roles: Usyk threw more punches and pinned Fury near the corner. The Briton tried to counterattack, in particular with uppercuts. It was only in the sixth round that Fury looked more noticeable than Usyk and landed several strong blows on the Ukrainian.
The seventh round was the most active in the Usyk-Fury fight. First, there was another uppercut from Fury. And closer to the end, Usyk landed a series of powerful punches on the Briton.
In the eighth round, Usyk was able to punch Fury right in the nose, after which the Briton began to bleed. In the ninth, the Briton was knocked down.
Usyk continued to dominate Fury in the next two rounds. Only in the 11th round did the Briton manage to partially regain control of the fight.
The winner of the Usyk-Fury fight was to be determined by the judges’ notes: both boxers lasted all 12 rounds. The Ukrainian won by a split decision of the judges.
Tyson Fury reportedly demanded a rematch from the Ukrainian boxer in October. Oleksandr Usyk accepted the rematch.
Tyson Fury is undefeated in his 35-fight career
Tyson Fury says Oleksandr Usyk is too small to compete with him in their undisputed heavyweight world title fight.
Briton Fury, 35, is the WBC champion, while Ukraine’s Usyk, 36, holds the WBA, WBO and IBF belts.
Fury said former cruiserweight champion Usyk will be “found wanting” on 18 May in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
“You can beat the average big ones but you can’t beat the elite big ones,” he said.
“Size is what really matters and we have weight divisions for a reason.”
A former undisputed champion at cruiserweight, Usyk beat Briton Anthony Joshua to become unified heavyweight champion in 2021.
The most recent undisputed heavyweight champion was Britain’s Lennox Lewis in 1999. Fury-Usyk will be the first time in the four-belt era that every title is on the line.
February’s bout was rescheduled after Fury suffered a cut in a freak sparring accident two weeks before the fight.
Fury described himself as an “encyclopaedia in boxing” and listed several cruiserweight greats, including Evander Holyfield and David Haye, who were beaten after stepping up to heavyweight.
He said Usyk’s previous opponents, such as Britain’s Daniel Dubois, had “limited ability”.
“If Tyson Fury can’t beat Usyk, Tyson’s no good. End of,” he said.
“This is my time, my destiny, my era and my generation. Facts.”
After his manager, trainer and promoter predicted a knockout win for Fury, he ended the news conference by joking that Usyk would knock him out in the first round.
Fury’s co-promoter Frank Warren said the fight is the “biggest of the 21st Century”.
The fight for the title of absolute world champion between British Tyson Fury and Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk, scheduled for February 17, will not take place, Suspilne reports, citing Mike Coppinger, a journalist for the American international sports TV channel ESPN.
“On Friday, February 2, the Briton suffered a cut on his face during a sparring session. Fury was stitched up, due to which the WBC belt holder will not have time to prepare for the fight in February,” the statement said.
It is noted that this is the second time the fight has been postponed.
The fight between Usyk and Joshua lasted all 12 rounds. According to the results of the fight, one judge voted for Joshua, the other two gave the advantage to Usyk.
Ukrainian boxer Usyk won a rematch against British Anthony Joshua in Saudi Arabia.
Usyk defended the IBF, WBA, WBO and IBO championship belts, which he took from Joshua in September 2021, and also won the title of champion according to The Ring magazine – it became vacant after Tyson Fury announced his retirement.
