On the night of May 18-19 in the capital of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, a fight for the title of absolute world champion in heavyweight between the Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk and the British Tyson Fury took place.
The fight lasted 12 rounds and ended with the victory of the Ukrainian by judges' decision.
Fury looked better in the first half of the fight, by the seventh round Usik looked significantly tired. However, the Ukrainian boxer managed to turn the tide of the fight. In the eighth round he smashed the nose of the Briton, and in the ninth round he sent him into knockdown, but Fury was able to continue the fight.
The judges' panel eventually gave the victory to Usik. Fury did not agree with this decision, saying that he will appeal it and demand a rematch. Usik has already given his consent to a rematch, but there has been no talk of concrete decisions yet.
“His country is at war, so people side with the howling country. I believe I won this fight. He won a few rounds, but I won most of them. We both put up a good fight,” the British boxer stated.
“Father, can you hear me? We did it! We did it! (Usik addressed his late father, who passed away in 2012 ed.) Thank you very much to my team, thank you to my god, Jesus. Great time, great day. Tyson, without you, this fight would not have been possible. An immediate rematch? Yes, of course. I'm ready for a rematch,” Usik said in his first speech after the win.
For the 35-year-old Fury, this is the first defeat in his career. Before that he had 34 wins in 34 fights with one draw. The 37-year-old Usik won all 22 fights in the professional ring.
The already legendary fight between Usyk and Fury caused a wave of discussion in the sports community, as well as in the political community.
Former absolute heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis wrote in social network X: “Welcome to the club, Usyk”.
The best heavyweight in the world, the Ukrainian boxer was also called the best heavyweight in the world by the famous boxing promoter Edward Hearn: “Usyk has defeated all the champions in the heavyweight division, with him beating Joshua twice and now defeating Fury. The best super featherweight in the world at this moment and that's a fact.”
Former world heavyweight champion and current mayor of Kyiv Volodymyr Klitschko called the victory “historic” and called Usyk “the best fighter in modern history.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also congratulated Usyk on the most important victory of his career: “Ukrainians hit powerfully! And in the end all our opponents will be overcome. Oleksandr Usyk is the absolute world champion! A hard fight that proves: Ukrainian endurance and strength give birth to Ukrainian victory. Congratulations, champion! Congratulations, country! Glory to Ukraine!”
