That’s all for today. Thanks as always for following along with us and be sure to check out the inestimable Donald McRae’s ringside report from an unforgettable Saturday night (and early Sunday morning) in Riyadh.
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“I thought the fight was over,” Hearn says. “Honestly, I’m watching Fury, he was unbelievable. His movement, that he used his size, he started to lean on Usyk. You know, he’s walking him onto everything, bringing him up through the middle, the jab was on point. He was showboating. People say, did he switch off? He’s just being Tyson Fury.
“You’re not going take that away from the fighter. That’s what he’s done in all those fights where he’s looked sensational. You have to mark the brilliance of Oleksandr Usyk. You’re talking about a guy that, he beat every champion at cruiserweight. He went up and he beat [Anthony Joshua] twice to become the unified world heavyweight champion. He’s just beaten Tyson Fury. You’re talking about one of the greatest fighters of our generation.
“You could have had any amount of money in a bet after six rounds, that fight was over. There was no way. I’m sitting there thinking, this is unbelievable. This is a walk in the park. There’s going to be no rematch. AJ straight in with Fury. And all of a sudden, it turns, and as I said, the ninth round, probably lucky to survive, but showed unbelievable heart to stay on his feet. Incredible, incredible fight.”
Hearn adds: “As a Brit, we wanted to win tonight, but you can’t help but but feel for [Usyk] and his country. I mean, what an achievement. The guy is going to lift Ukraine. He’s going be an absolute national hero and so he should be. You know, he’s a he’s a good man. He’s a good human. And what a performance. Because honestly, I thought he was completely done in that fight.”
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“First of all, what a spectacle,” says Matchroom supremo Eddie Hearn, who promotes former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua. “How great for the sport of boxing. Incredible fight and absolutely a fight of two halves. Struggled to give Usyk maybe more than one round in the first half of the fight. And then all of a sudden, the fight changed [in rounds] seven and eight, the momentum started to swing. How he survived the night? I thought he was very lucky that the referee didn’t jump in. He showed unbelievable heart to stay on his feet and unbelievable composure coming out for the 10th, 11th. He was losing those rounds, but he was recovering.
“I thought Usyk started to look tired, but all of the momentum was with Oleksandr Usyk. You know, on the front foot, constantly walking Fury down. I thought the 12th round was quite close. Everyone asking around ringside, who’s got it at the end? For me, it was a draw or Oleksandr Usyk by a round or or two, max. Tyson Fury for the first half of that fight was sensational. It was it was almost a mismatch. But he just kept coming, Usyk kept coming, but he didn’t look like he was going to find a way. Until he started just to win a round and and win another round, and the ninth was was incredible. Fury hurt bad. What a fight. An unbelievable fight.”
“That was a fight,” says Lennox Lewis, whose retirement prompted a fracture of the title that went unresolved until today. “I told you, he’s got he’s got an entire country behind him, and he’s fighting for a reason. And you could see it in the fight. He was pressing Tyson Fury all the time, always pressing him each round. He was doing little body punches, getting Tyson Fury tired. Tyson Fury, you know, he needed more discipline. He needed to keep his hands up a little bit more. He got caught and Usyk took advantage of that, [thanks to] the fact that he was playing around.”
On the ninth-round knockdown, Lewis says: “[Fury] can take a shot. He took a Deontay [Wilder] shot and got back up, so he’s got a good chin. I told you I was worried about his legs. His focus wasn’t there like I would wished it would have been. When you play around a little bit, you can get caught and he got caught and that’s the result of it.”
He adds: “You gotta take your hat off to [Usyk]. He’s did an incredible job. Oleksandr Usyk had focus all the way, And he had his fans there right there in the front row cheering for him and I’ve seen his energy go up. Every time they started shouting ‘Usyk’, his energy went up.”
Klitschko: 'We Ukrainians had the chance for 48 minutes to enjoy this'
Wladimir Klitschko, who is holding a Ukrainian flag, is asked about the importance of today’s result back home. “Just imagine that every day and night, Putin’s Russia is bombarding us with kamikaze drones and rockets,” he says. “And tonight as well, Ukraine was suffering. Lives were lost, I’m sure, tonight as well. But on other hand, we Ukrainians in Ukraine had the chance for 48 minutes to enjoy the performance of Oklesandr Usyk, and that get peace in our hearts and souls. So just thank you, Oklesandr.”
“I was [nervous] be honest with you,” says a jubilant Wladimir Klitschko, who held boxing lineal heavyweight title until his 2015 loss to Fury. “It was very difficult we saw for [Usyk] to get closer due to the size difference and mobility of Tyson Fury. In the ninth round, Oleksandr, he turned it from zero to 100, all of a sudden. That was unbelievable. I’m surprised that Tyson Fury got up, actually, and continued to fight until end of it. Respect to him.
“But Oleksandr showed once again that with technique, you can make much more and get much further in boxing than just with power. He has the power of the man, but his power is his heart, his belief, and that he’s Ukrainian. I’m really proud tonight of the winner of Oleksandr Usyk and really proud to be Ukrainian.”
Klitschko is asked what adjustments Usyk made to change the tide during the second half of the fight.
“He didn’t let him distract with all the tricks that Tyson Fury tried to do,” Klitschko says. “He was consistent, and he stayed on his line and he was just waiting for this opportunity to make full contact that we saw in the ninth round, and he did it.”
Was he surprised Fury survived Usyk’s ninth-round barrage?
“Absolutely,” the two-time heavyweight champion says. “Hands down, Tyson Fury showed the heart of a lion. He continued fighting till the end of the fight and recovered fast. I’m just so proud of my man. He did it all, what he’s supposed to do.”
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Usyk: 'I'm ready for a rematch'
Usyk is asked if he wants the contracted return match before departing the ring. “Of course!” he says. “I’m ready for a rematch. Listen. We do a good fight, yes?”
Oleksandr Usyk’s promoter, Alex Krassyuk, is asked about the fight.
“I’m exhausted,” he says.” I was cheering. I was making music the whole fight. But, like no disrespect to the referee [Mark Nelson], but he I think he saw a KO in the ninth. That’s my opinion, but anyway, it was a tremendous performance. It was something unbelievable. And I hope to see even more in the rematch.”
An extraordinary contest of extreme physical and psychological intensity ... and we may see a rematch as soon as October. “That’s what the contract says,” Fury’s co-promoter Frank Warren states. “It’s what he wants. It’s his call. It’s Tyson’s call. So whatever he wants to do is up to him. And the clause in the contract says an immediate rematch.”
To no one’s surprise, Fury is game.
“Yeah, for sure,” Fury says. “We go back, have a little rest-up, spend some time with our families, and we’ll get it back on in October. Like I said, I believe I won the fight, but I’m not going to sit here and cry and make excuses. It was a good fight.”
Fury: 'I believe I won that fight'
“I believe I won that fight,” Fury says. “I believe he won a few of the rounds, but I won majority of them. And I believe it was – what can you do? – one of them decisions in boxing.
“We’ve both put on a good fight. Best we could do. And, you know, his country’s at war. So people are siding with a country at war. But make no mistake, I’ve won that fight in my opinion, and I’ll be back. We’ve got a rematch clause.
“You know, I thank Jesus for all the victories he’s given me. I’ve dropped a split decision to the good little man, and I thank him again in the mighty name of Jesus. We go back home to our families and we’ll run it back in October.”
“Thank you so much for my my team,” Usyk says. “Thank you so much, my God, Jesus. Mister Excellency, thank you. It’s big opportunity for me, for my family, for my country.”
He adds: “It’s a great day.”
Oleksandr Usyk wins by split decision over Tyson Fury!
Ring announcer Michael Buffer reads the judges’ scores amid a sold-out arena rapt in suspense. The first: 115-112 for Usyk. The second: 114-113 for Fury. The third: 114-113 ... for Oleksandr Usyk!
The ninth-round knockdown made the difference in the end in a fight for the ages between two top operators. Usyk has won a split decision to become the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the world since Lennox Lewis a quarter-century ago.
Here’s a look at the judges’ official scorecards:
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Round 12
Fury needs to step to Usyk in this final round and he’s not doing it. Usyk is coming forward in the opening half of this final round, landing one left hand after another, putting a stamp on a performance for the ages. Fury comes back hard over the final minute with a couple of vicious right hands, but Usyk continues to accumulate points with his left, giving his opponent no quarter at a point when he needs an eye-catching moment most. An exhilarating performance between the two best heavyweights on the planet.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Fury 9-10 Usyk (Fury 111-116 Usyk)
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Round 11
Usyk continues to land the cleaner, more effective shots. Both fighters clearly gassed with three minutes to go. Can the former cruiserweight champion close the show to hand Fury the first defeat of his professional career? The Gypsy King has rebounded admirably from the ninth-round abyss, but he almost definitely needs a knockout to keep his belts.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Fury 9-10 Usyk (Fury 102-106 Usyk)
Round 10
Fury has 60 seconds to recover from that battering. Can he survive this round? Fury could have easily been stopped that last round, but the third man Nelson did well to measure the occasion of the moment. Usyk is not pressing the issue, giving Fury precious space to recover. Usyk scoring with sparing overhand lefts, consistently. Usyk did enough there to win the round on activity, but it might go down as a fatal mistake after he gave Fury three minutes to recover from the brink of defeat.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Fury 9-10 Usyk (Fury 93-96 Usyk)
Fury down in round nine!
Round 9
The blood is bothering Fury. Usyk has found purchase with the overhand left, a punch we haven’t seen much from him tonight. Fury has been rattled! Usyk unloads with a barrage of shots with Fury trapped along the ropes and Fury is in serious trouble! He’s stumbling all over the ring! The referee might stop it! We’ve never seen him hurt this badly! He stumbles and falls back into the corner and referee Mark Nelson calls it a knockdown! He’s down for the eighth time in his career! Makes it to his feet but he’s been saved by the bell!
Guardian’s unofficial score: Fury 8-10 Usyk (Fury 84-86 Usyk)
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Round 8
Usyk lands a crunching right hand upstairs and Fury wipes his nose. The Ukrainian is back in this! He’s battering Fury, rallying back to dominate the exchanges. Usyk lands a massive right hand that appears to have damaged Fury’s right eye, opening a cut. Fury bleeding! Usyk is digging in like the great fighters do! Fury’s body language not great. A classic in the offing with four scheduled rounds to go.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Fury 9-10 Usyk (Fury 76-76 Usyk)
Round 7
Fury remains in control for the opening half of the seventh, but superior output from Usyk as he continues to try and find a way to work his way inside. Usyk lands a very hard left with Fury cornered near the end of the round, but Fury throws back immediately and with flair. It was just enough to nick a close round for the Ukrainian. Notably, Usyk has all but given up his work to the body.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Fury 9-10 Usyk (Fury 67-66 Usyk)
Round 6
The body shots on Usyk have taken their toll but Usyk lands a sizzling right hand against the run of play. That wobbled Fury! But he recovers quickly. Extraordinary punch resistance from the WBC champion. And Fury lands a big shot, a devastating uppercut! And Usyk is hurt! The Ukrainian is backpedalling with a minute to go in the round. Fury appears in control, landing punches in combination, stalking his wounded foe. He finishes the round with his gloves behind his back, taunting Usyk.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Fury 10-9 Usyk (Fury 58-56 Usyk)
Round 5
Fury moving forward for the first time all night. He’s almost exclusively targeting Usyk’s midsection and finding the target. Excellent body work from the lineal champion. His mugging and clowning of the Ukrainian is not authentic: he’s in a serious fight. Fury lands a shot well below the beltline that Usyk is not happy with, but the action continues uninterrupted. Fury is scoring effectively to the body and Usyk is feeling it. The Ukrainian has sacrificed his elusiveness for aggression and is poorer for it. Best round of the fight for Fury.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Fury 10-9 Usyk (Fury 48-47 Usyk)
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Round 4
Fury is really in his groove now, boxing beautifully with in-and-out movement, scoring with the jab and punctuating exchanges with the right uppercut. He lands a crisp right hand moving forward that Usyk took well but definitely felt. Usyk continues to operate with relentless pressure, landing overhand lefts that are troubling Fury less than in the earlier rounds. This is a close fight between two top, evenly matched operators.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Fury 10-9 Usyk (Fury 38-38 Usyk)
Round 3
Fury, almost exclusively fighting going backwards, is using his upper-body movement to counter Usyk’s aggression and find home for the right hand. Usyk continues to barrel inside and use pressure to negate his opponent’s yawning advantages in height (six inches) and reach (seven). After two rounds Fury is finally stepping up the workrate and scoring consistently with the jab. Usyk complaining about hits behind the head. A very, very close fight after three sessions.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Fury 10-9 Usyk (Fury 28-29 Usyk)
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Round 2
Usyk gets Fury’s attention with a flush shot early in the round and Fury isn’t laughing any more. The smaller man is walking down the bigger man and landing the better and more effective shots. Fury lands a right hand while in retreat. Fury then lands a nifty shovel uppercut to the body, but it does nothing to deter Usyk, who keeps marching forward. Usyk’s relentless pressure is making Fury uncomfortable, but he continues to score with the right hand to the body.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Fury 9-10 Usyk (Fury 18-20 Usyk)
Round 1
There’s the bell! Fury holds the center of the ring and paws with his left hand as Usyk looks to negotiate a way inside that seven-inch reach advantage. Each man is targeting the other’s body with their early shots. Usyk, six inches shorter, looks even smaller under the bright lights than at the weigh-in. Usyk landing crisp southpaw jabs to Fury’s ribs. Fury backs into the red corner, throws his arms on the ropes and mugs at his opponent while shaking his head. Usyk connects flush with an overhand left. Easy round for the Ukrainian.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Fury 9-10 Usyk (Fury 9-10 Usyk)
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Buffer has made the fighter introductions. Usyk first then Fury, a not-insignificant point in the contract negotiations. The final instructions have been given, the seconds are out and we’ll pick it up with round-by-round coverage from here!
And here comes Tyson Fury. He’s the clear crowd favorite, looking relaxed and ready as he plays to the masses. Bonnie Tyler urgent 1984 anthem Holding Out For A Hero plays at ear-splitting volume, a bit of UK pride.
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Oleksandr Usyk has made his entrance. He walks quickly and methodically to the ring like a tiger as his personal hymn (Гімн Олександра Усика by Браття) plays on the arena sound system.
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Ring announcer Michael Buffer has emerged from the tunnel. He’s just called for a performance of Saudi Arabia’s national anthem, a brief instrumental rendition that’s played through quickly. Now the (great) Atlanta rapper JID is performing in an open-air cube that descended from the rafters directly above the ring.
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It’s a quarter past midnight in Riyadh as the crowd awaits the entrances of Fury and Usyk. Here’s a dispatch from Donald McRae, our man at ringside:
I must be a sucker for punishment as I have been in the arena since 5pm, Riyadh time. The first six bouts on a long old 10-fight card were watched mostly in silence with the Kingdom Arena slowly filling to around a third of its capacity by 10pm. It’s apparently sold out tonight, with around 22,000 people expected. On the swanky side of ringside the seat names suggest that Anthony Joshua will be watching Fury v Usyk next to Cristiano Ronaldo. AJ’s name is printed in full while his pal for the night is, of course, on CR7 brand on the piece of paper pinned to a chair.
Sergey Kovalev, who had been out of the ring for two years, should really slip away into permanent retirement. Not many were really watching but he took a methodical beating before being knocked down by Sweden’s Robin Sirwan Safar just seconds before the final bell. There were then two quick first round stoppage wins for Mark Chamberlain, the lightweight, and Moses Itauma, the promising 19-year-old British heavyweight.
The fight of the night so far, by some distance, was the all-British IBF world title fight between the super-featherweights, Anthony Cacace from Belfast and Joe Cordina from Cardiff. Cordina, the champion, was dropped heavily in round three. He looked in serious trouble but, with immense grit, fought back. Cacace, however, was relentless. Cordina, having apparently been through a really draining weight cut this week, wilted under a fierce barrage of punches in round eight and the referee rightly rescued him. Cacace, having just become a world champion, was understandably jubilant.
When they left the ring the arena was two-thirds full and a little louder. Just after midnight local time, as the atmosphere builds gradually, I should start getting ready for work and writing about Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk.
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We asked veteran trainer Dominic Ingle to break down the tactics that could decide tonight’s winner. Dedicated fight fans know Ingle as the head trainer at Sheffield’s Wincobank Gym, which has produced a long line of champions including Ryan Rhodes, Johnny Nelson, Herol Graham, Naseem Hamed, Junior Witter and Kell Brook. His verdict:
Fury to win a very close points decision. But he will have to be very focused because Usyk is a busy fighter. It’s not just the volume of shots he throws, but the feints, the tap downs and setup shots. It has worked throughout his career but it will be a different story against Fury because of his height and range. I suspect Usyk will find it very difficult to get his back hand off because Fury will take a step back, put his arm out to fend him off and tap him with a jab. Don’t be surprised to see a split decision, assuming Fury’s eye isn’t opened up and chaos ensues.
Jai Opetaia has won the vacant IBF cruiserweight title with a 12-round unanimous decision over Mairis Briedis. The ringside judges handed down scores of 117-111 and 116-112 (twice). The Sydney southpaw was in total control until a spot of drama in the late rounds, but he came through to reclaim the belt he vacated last year. The countdown to Fury v Usyk is on.
“I knew he was going to come home strong,” Opetaia says in an in-ring interview. “After he hit on my nose, it sort of rocked me a bit, but we stayed smart. We just kept boxing, and we won the fight. So that’s all that matters.”
He adds: “I’m honored to share the ring with a champion like that man. I watched this guy coming through the cruiserweight rankings, so I idolize this guy. To be here and share the ring with him, he’s a true warrior, and I’ve got nothing but respect.”
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The week leading up to the most significant heavyweight fight in 25 years kicked off with a bang on Monday afternoon. Or, shall we say, a butt, when Tyson Fury’s famously excitable father, John, head-butted a member of Oleksandr Usyk’s entourage at a pre-fight media availability in Riyadh. The 59-year-old paterfamilias was left bloodied after making contact with a young Ukrainian, Stanislav Stepchuk, in reaction to a sustained chanting of Usyk’s name.
Cooler heads have prevailed in the days since, with fight week settling into a respectful tone following the early rancor, but the lowkey psychological warfare between Fury and Usyk has offered up rich fodder for armchair pundits.
Here’s where things stand with the order of play. We’re into the 10th round of a scheduled 12-round fight between Jai Opetaia and Mairis Briedis for the IBF vacant cruiserweight title. That’s the last of the nine undercard bouts on tonight’s card. Once that’s done, the countdown to the main event will begin.
We’ve been told to expect Fury and Usyk to make their ringwalks at the top of the hour, around midnight local time, or about 15 minutes from now. That feels a bit soon, but it shouldn’t be much longer beyond that point.
Tale of the tape
Here’s how the fighters measure up ahead of tonight’s showdown. Fury came in 262lbs at yesterday’s weigh-in, arguably the best shape of his career and more than 15lbs below his weight from a highly underwhelming showing against MMA champion Francis Ngannou in their November crossover fight. Usyk tipped the scales at a career-high 223.5lbs, two pounds heavier than he weighed for the second Joshua bout.
Fury’s advantages of seven inches of reach and six inches in height remain the most imposing physical obstacles facing Usyk, a former undisputed cruiserweight champion who has exceeded all expectations in five fights at heavyweight.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to Riyadh’s Kingdom Arena for tonight’s summit meeting between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk. There are big fights. There are blockbusters. And there are events like this one which promise to define an era. For the first time since the dawn of the millennium, after a quarter-century of fracture and dispute, boxing will have an undisputed heavyweight champion.
Of the many well-documented reasons for boxing’s protracted retreat toward the periphery of the mainstream, the lack of clearly identifiable champions rates high on a competitive list. At one time the heavyweight championship of the world was the most prestigious title in sports, yet the lack of central authority has left us with four major sanctioning bodies that have served to create confusion among casual observers while devaluing the currency of a title.
Fury has owned the WBC’s version of the championship since his stunning knockout of Deontay Wilder in the middle installment of their epic trilogy, while Usyk owns the WBA, IBF and WBO straps, having won them from Anthony Joshua and defended them in a rematch. Fury’s claim to the throne is arguably purer as the lineal champion from his 2015 win over Wladimir Klitschko – the man who beat the man who beat the man – the successor of a pedigree traceable all the way back to John L Sullivan (but for the retirements of Lewis, Rocky Marciano and Gene Tunney).
The sport’s flagship division has long served as a bellwether for the popularity of fighting at large. As the heavyweights go, they say, so does boxing. For all the acclaim that awaits tonight’s winner, one could argue that a sport stands to gain even more.
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Bryan will be here shortly. In the meantime here’s a look at the long and winding road to tonight’s summit meeting.
