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.
