Oleksandr Usyk successfully retained his heavyweight world titles with a unanimous decision victory over former WBC champion Tyson Fury in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Usyk and Fury faced off for the second time in Saudi Arabia after Usyk took the spoils on the scorecards in their first meeting. And, in a fight that saw both men noticeably more aggressive early on, it was Usyk whose work proved the more effective over the 12-round duration as he earned scores of 116-112 on all three judges’ scorecards to retain his WBA (Super), WBO and WBC titles.
All 12 rounds were very competitive, but Usyk edged enough of them through his cleaner shots, while keeping a solid guard to ensure that a lot of Fury’s best work landed on his gloves, rather than catching him flush.
The official punch stats showed that Usyk outlanded Fury through the course of the contest, with 179 shots landed from 423 for Usyk compared to Fury’s 144 from 509.
That difference in efficiency – Usyk’s 42 percent to Fury’s 28 percent – told the story of Usyk’s overall performance, as the Ukrainian coupled his accuracy with a tenacity that ensured that he answered almost every big moment Fury had with a response of his own.
Elation and frustration: Usyk vs. Fury 2 post-fight reaction
After his victory, Usyk said, “I win, it’s good. I win, thank you God,” before paying tribute to Fury.
“He is a great fighter, he is a great opponent. An unbelievable 24 rounds for my career. Thank you so much.”
A disgusted Fury left the ring during Usyk’s post-fight interview, leaving promoter Frank Warren to vent his own frustration at the scorecards.
“How come Tyson only got four rounds in this fight? It’s impossible,” he said.
“He’s very disappointed, as I am as well. Everyone along the front (row of seats) thought it was all the same way.”
Warren wouldn’t be drawn on Fury’s fighting future, as the overriding emotion from the Fury camp was one of pure frustration of a competitive fight going against them on the cards.
“It’s up to him (what he does next). It’s just after a fight and emotions are running high,” Warren explained.
“It’s nuts. Did you only give him four rounds out of eight? I don’t get it.
“I’m really disappointed. We’ll have to see what happens in the future for Tyson. I thought he was in control, boxed really well and had Usyk on his back foot.”
Daniel Dubois: An awkward intruder
Usyk’s interview was gatecrashed by an ill-judged and very awkward intervention from IBF champion Daniel Dubois, who demanded to get his revenge with a rematch with Usyk.
In their first meeting in August 2023, Dubois had dropped Usyk with a body shot he felt was legal, but was ruled a low blow. After Usyk had been given time to fully recover, the fight resumed and the Ukrainain stopped Dubois in the ninth round to retain his titles.
And, while Dubois arrived on the scene in a somewhat frantic manner, Usyk seemed completely unruffled at the unexpected development.
“No problem,” he told Dubois, before addressing Turki Alalsheikh and requesting that he books a rematch between him and Dubois next.
Dubois has business of his own to attend to first, however, as he faces Joseph Parker in a defence of his IBF title on February 22 in Riyadh.
Also on the fight card in Riyadh, there was a huge win for 19-year-old English heavyweight prospect Moses Itauma, who demolished 22-1 Australian Demsey McKean inside two minutes to continue his meteoric rise up the heavyweight ranks.
Serhii Bohachuk earned himself a shot at the WBC super welterweight title with a sixth-round corner stoppage of Ishmael Davis, and there was a judging controversy earlier in the evening, as undefeated Johnny Fisher dodged a bullet when he earned a hotly-disputed split-decision victory over UK heavyweight vet Dave Allen, who had dropped Fisher mid-way through the contest and had him on the back foot for long portions of the fight.
However, the judges scored the fight 95-94, 93-96, 96-94 to keep Fisher’s undefeated record intact and leave Allen wondering what more he could have done to claim the WBA intercontinental heavyweight title.
Usyk vs. Fury 2: Official results
- Oleksandr Usyk def. Tyson Fury via unanimous decision (116-112, 116-112, 116-112) – for WBA, WBC, WBO, and Ring heavyweight titles
- Moses Itauma def. Demsey McKean via TKO – Round 1, 1:57 – for WBO intercontinental, WBA international and Commonwealth silver heavyweight titles
- Serhii Bohachuk def. Ishmael Davis via TKO (retirement) – Round 6, 3:00 – WBC super welterweight title eliminator
- Johnny Fisher def. Dave Allen via split decision (95-94, 93-96, 96-94) – for WBA intercontinental heavyweight title
- Lee McGregor def. Isaac Lowe via unanimous decision (96-92, 97-91, 97-91) – fpr WBC international featherweight title
- Peter McGrail def. Rhys Edwards via unanimous decision (96-95, 96-64, 96-94)– super featherweight
- Daniel Lapin def. Dylan Colin via unanimous decision (100-90, 99-91, 99-91) – for IBF international and WBA continental light heavyweight titles
- Andrii Novytskyi def. Edgar Ramirez via unanimous decision (100-90, 100-90, 98-92) – WBC international heavyweight title
- Mohammed Alakel def. Joshua Ocampo via unanimous decision (60-53, 60-53, 60-53)
