OLEKSANDR Usyk is still the undeniable number one heavyweight on the planet and a pound-for-pound star after defeating Tyson Fury in Saudi Arabia. It felt like a close fight from start to finish that ended with the three judges scoring it 116-112 to the winner.
There were a pile of tentative early rounds as they bit behind jabs, trying to win the battle of the middle ring real estate. Content with pokes to the body, Usyk finally moved upstairs with a left hand to the chin in round four. Fury responded late in the round with an impulsive right hand. The ‘Gypsy King’ was having the better of the exchanges.
Fury’s hands sat higher in the fifth; walking forward, using his strength to push the Ukrainian back. Usyk’s dedicated body strategy turned to an upstairs attack in the sixth as a sharp shot buzzed the bigger man momentarily.
The temperature was gently rising as Usyk entered his familiar territory of the final rounds. Fury unloaded the lesser-spotted uppercut in round eight as heads clashed. No visible damage, thankfully. Referee Ramirez had a little look at both unblemished skulls and waved them back inside.
Breathing heavier as he entered the ninth, Fury grabbed a little more after throwing shots. He turned the tables in the 10th, upping the aggression. Suddenly, rematch revenge looked within reach.
Usyk, meanwhile, was blowing vigorously from his nostrils, trying to clear the senses. Following a good 10th for Fury, the king of the championship rounds, Oleksandr Usyk, came back strongly in the 11th.
The 12th was there to be won and nobody really grasped with both hands and took it. It turns out Usyk had done enough. Cue an awkward post-fight interview gatecrashed by Daniel Dubois begging for revenge. Usyk may choose to sail off into the sunset and leave them all to fight it out between themselves.
