Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk Recap: Usyk Becomes Undisputed Heavyweight Champion

By Jacob Rodriguez

Photo Credit: Instagram (@usykaa)

Ukraine’s Oleksandr Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) made history last night in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, when he defeated England’s Tyson Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs) for the undisputed heavyweight championship of the world. Usyk,37, is the first undisputed heavyweight world champion since Lennox Lewis last held the title more than a quarter of a century ago.

The "Ring of Fire" event delivered an exciting night of boxing and entertainment. Celebrities like Liev Schreiber and Cristiano Rolando and legendary boxing world champions, including Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis, Wladimir Klitschko, and Roberto Duran, were in attendance.

After the conclusion of a seven-fight undercard that included two other world title matches, an anxious, sold-out crowd waited with much anticipation to witness this historic event twenty-five years in the making.

Upon hearing the legendary voice of ring announcer Michael Buffer, the atmosphere was electric as the festivities leading to the fighters' entrance commenced. The crowd was dazzled with flashy lights and vignettes of each boxer, and American rapper JID entertained the crowd before Fury and Usyk made their ring walks.

Usyk was the first boxer to walk towards the ring. The Ukrainian fighter was dressed in a green robe and an ushanka, walked towards the ring with the cold demeanor of an ancient gladiator getting ready for battle.

Photo Credit: Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn/X)

However, his rival's entrance was the exact opposite. Fury's ring entrance was fun, energetic, and humorous. The Brit wore a baseball cap to the back and a short sleeveless robe as he danced to Barry White's "My Everything," followed by Bonnie Tyler's “I Need a Hero."The ring walk festivities culminate with Michel Buffer's famous tagline, "Let's get ready to rumble."

Photo Credit: Top Rank Promotions (@trboxing)/X

Finally, the bell rings to start the fight. Usyk is the first striker and lands shots to the Brit's body, which he follows up with strikes to the head. Meanwhile, Fury is trying to gauge the range of his jab based on Usyk's movements, all the while mocking and taunting the Ukrainian. Round two mirrors round one, and Usyk seemed to have taken the first two rounds.

Photo Credit: Top Rank Promotions (@trboxing)

In round three, Fury timed Usyk's movements and started landing his jab, thwarting the Ukrainians' forward momentum. In the next round, Fury established the range he felt comfortable fighting and started to land the one-two combo against Usyk with ease. By the end of the round, the fight seemed even, tied at two rounds for each fighter.

Over the next three rounds, Fury found a home for his right hand and steadily attacked Usyk's body, which affected him. Fury also started to smother Usyk and use his 30 lb. weight advantage to wear out the smaller Usyk. Usyk started to slow down, was breathing heavily, and seemed like he would succumb to Fury's tactics.

In round eight, Usyk desperately comes out the corner swinging overhand shots at Fury and lands a shot that rocks the big guy and sends him flailing to the ropes. Usyk lands several powerful shots that leave Fury battered, bloodied, and dazed as the round ends.

In the ninth round, Fury paws at his nose and peddles back while Usyk stalks him. Fury’s nose was bleeding steadily and looked broken by Usyk's onslaught in the previous round. Suddenly, Usyk lands a destructive series of combinations that send Fury staggering across the ring. Usyk, sensing a knockout was imminent, mercilessly continues his attack. Fury was all but knocked out as he hit the ropes one more time, prompting the referee to step in and start a count. After the referee count, Fury desperately holds on to Usyk until the bell rings, miraculously surviving the vicious beating he sustained.

Photo Credit: Top Rank Promotions (@trboxing)

Over the next three rounds, Usyk stalks Fury, and the Brit courageously fights back using his one-two combinations. However, the Brit is beaten up and unable to formulate a counterattack to turn the tide of the fight back in his favor. At that point, all his legs were good for was moving to avoid getting hit and knocked out by Usyk. 

The crowd erupts to its feet, cheering and applauding the two fighters as they wait for the judges' scores to be announced.

The judges scored the fight 115-112, Usyk, 114-113, Fury, and 114-113, Usyk, and awarded a split decision in favor of Usyk.

In the postfight interview, Usyk was humbled and recounted all his sacrifices and hardships over the last nine months to focus on this fight. "Now, I'm happy. I want to go back home, go to my church and pray. I want to say 'Jesus, thank you because, for me and my country, it was a big opportunity."

On the contrary, Fury insists he won the fight and suggests that Usyk may have gotten a sympathy nod from the judges because Ukraine, his native country, is at war. "I believe we both put on a good fight- best we could do. And, you know, his country is at war. People are siding with the country at war," said Fury.

Photo Credit: Top Rank Promotions (@trboxing)

Co-Main Event: Jai Opetaia (24-0, 19KOs) vs. Mairis Briedis (28-2, 20 KOs)

In the co-feature fight of the evening, Jai Opetaia,28, from South Wales, Australia, defeated Mairis Briedis,39, from Riga, Latvia, for the Vacant IBF cruiserweight world title.

This fight didn’t have the knockout excitement of the previous fights or the thrilling drama of the main event. However, it was a brutal fight that left both fighters battered and bloodied at the end. Opetaia had to dig deep and fight through a grueling second match against Briedis to win a unanimous decision against his Latvian nemesis. 

Under Cards:

Joe Cordina (17-1, 9 KOs) vs. Anthony Cacace (21-1, 8KOs)

Anthony Cacace,35, from Belfast, Ireland, stunned the world when he upset Joe Cordina, 32, from Wales, United Kingdom, for the IBF super featherweight world title.

The fight was slow in the first two rounds while the fighters gauged each other. In the third round, Cacace hurts Corbina with a left hook that took the Welsh’s legs away from him. Although Corbina survived the round, he was damaged goods for the remainder of the fight. Cacace landed twenty-eight power shots to Cordina’s four during the third round. The round was controversial because the damaging blow arguably landed while the referee attempted to break the fighters.

Cordina valiantly fought through the next four rounds but sustained heavy punishment against Cacace, prompting the referee to end the fight in the eighth round. Cacace is the new IBF world champion.

“I’m in shock. Nobody gave me a chance to do this here,” said Cacace after winning his first major world title.

 Frank Sanchez (24-1, 17 KOs) vs. Agit Kabayel (25-0, 17 KOs)

 In this WBC eliminator match, heavyweight Frank Sanchez, 31, from Miami, Florida, by way of Cuba, lost for the first time in his professional career to Agit Kabayel, 31, from Germany. Kabayel's impressive performance upset the highly-ranked Cuban contender and positioned him to fight for a world title.

Kbayel has won his last four fights by knockout and has put the rest of the heavyweight division on notice with this stunning victory.

Moses Itauma, (9-0, 7KOs) vs. Ilja Mezencev (25-4, 21 KOs)

Moses Iatuma, 19, from the United Kingdom, knocked out Ilja Mezencev, 28, from Germany, fifty seconds into round two. In an impressive display of speed and explosive power, Moses Itauma is a heavyweight prospect to watch out for.

Mark Chamberlain (16-0,12 KOs) vs. Joshua Wahab (23-2,16 KOs)

Mark Chamberlain, 25, a southpaw from Portsmouth, England, knocked out Joshua Wahab, 26, from Accra, Ghana.

Sergey Kovalev (35-5-1, 29 KOs) vs. Robin Sirwan Safar, (17-0, 12 KOs)

Former world light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev from Russia nearly got knocked out in his comeback fight after being away from the ring for two years. From the onset, Kovalev, 41, was outgunned by his younger rival, Robin Sirwan Safar, 31, from Sweden.

Safar was pressing the action and landing solid shots against Kovalev. In the middle rounds, Kovalev knocked off some of the ring rust and started to land punches on Safar. In the eighth round, Safar resumed his onslaught and wore down the older Kovalev. In the final round, Safar landed a violent combination that dropped the former champion and left him dazed against the ropes. As Sergey got up the bell sounded and possibly saved him from being knocked out.

Safar won the fight by unanimous decision and probably put an end to Sergey Kovalev’s career.

David Nykia (9-0, 8 KOs) vs. Michael Seitz (12-0,10KOs)

David Nykia,28, a native of Hamilton, New Zealand, knocked out Michael Seitz (12-0 10Kos),31, from Frankfurt, Germany, for the IBF International Cruiserweight champion. That was Nykia’s eighth knockout win in nine fights.

My Take:

Fury vs. Usyk for the undisputed championship of the world was an epic fight with historical significance that delivered in the way a world heavyweight title fight should. The two best heavyweights on the planet fought a monumental match that gave the world its first undisputed heavyweight champion in twenty-five years. Like the classic heavyweight fights of the past, it was an exhilarating environment, with celebrities, entertainment, and thrilling battles. Fury and Usyk gave us the best of themselves on this night in Saudi Arabia and left a bit of themselves in that ring. It was an Arabian night that will stand the test of time and be remembered for generations.