Boxing legends Oleksander Usyk and John Fury met up again in the ring and Usyk finally shut naysayers up by defeating Tyson Fury yet again at a rematch battle.
The pair collided in a memorable 12-round affair this past May, with the Ukrainian falling on the right side of a split decision to add the WBC title to his WBA (super), IBF, WBO, IBO, and The Ring belts. Nine months after the showdown the two where back at it again in the cage at Riyadh
The boxers faced each other on Saturday, and it was a battle of the greats, with both fighters giving it every they got. The fight started with Fury stepping into the cage with a lot of fury coupled with a right-hand and a jab. He took Usyk by surprise but the Ukrainian recovered quickly with a couple of hard body shots.
Usyk kept on the offensive and managed to work through Fury’s defences to land some punishing shots. He delivered a left hook and some body shots that led Fury to change his tactic. He went into the following rounds with more caution but improved leaps and strategic punches but Usyk was prepared for this and met the fighter at every turn. The two continued for twelve rounds, with both fighters seeking a leeway and delivering savage punches that should have guaranteed a knockout, but in the end, Usyk emerged victorious via unanimous decision.
The battle was long and hard fought but at the end of it, Usyk complimented Fury for being a worthy opponent once again and spoke about how he punched himself through the rounds.
“I don’t know, maybe I am training. I’m prepared,” Usyk said about his ability to push the pace for all 12 rounds. “My wife helps me. Today for me, it’s a very happy day because my sons won competition too in judo. They take judo belts, orange and green. My son said, ‘Hey Papa, you’re next.’”
Although the fight ended with a brilliant victory for Usyk, John Fury believes the scorecards were wrong and he is the rightful winner of the fight. He believes he landed more savage punches and uppercuts but the judges were more focused on what happened at the last rounds of the fight rather than the earlier parts.
“I was quite confident,” Fury said. “I thought I won that fight again. I think I’ve got ‘Larry Holmes’d’ here. I thought I’ve won both fights, but then again I’ve gone home with two losses on my record now, so there’s not much I can do about it.And, I can just fight my heart out and do the best I can.
“But again, I’ll always believe until the day I die I’ve won that fight.”
“I was on the front foot all night, landing body and head,” Fury said. “Listen, sometimes it’s hard to score.”
“[Queensbury Promotions’] Frank [Warren] had me three or four rounds up, a lot of people had me at least two. I just don’t know. Listen, it is what it is. I’m not going to cry over spilled milk, it’s happened now. I know boxing, been in it all my life, you can’t change no decisions, but I’ll just always feel a little bit hard done by. Not a little bit, actually a lot, but think when you don’t get the knockout, this is what happens. You can’t guarantee a win.”
Fury has had a rough season, and with his recent back-to-back losses, it is unclear what the next step for him will be. Perhaps now is the time for Fury to face off with Anthony Joshua in an all-England affair finally, but he clearly wasn’t happy after falling to Usyk on Saturday.
“What’s next for me, I’m going home and having some time off. You might do, you might not do. Who knows? We’ll talk about that next year.”
