Oleksandr Usyk holds up Mazepa’s Sabre after his win over Tyson Fury for the WBA (Super), WBO and WBC world heavyweight titles on 22 December 2024. Photo: Photosport / Leigh Dawney
Ukraine's Oleksandr Usyk has retained his WBA (Super), WBO and WBC world heavyweight titles by unanimous decision against Britain's Tyson Fury to remain undefeated after an enthralling clash in an electric atmosphere at the Kingdom Arena on Sunday.
Giving up advantages in height, weight and reach to his much bigger opponent, Usyk fought superbly throughout to win 116-112 on all three judges' scorecards as he again defeated Fury after his success in May made him the undisputed champion.
Fury, 36, was much-improved from that first encounter where he wilted in the ninth round but could still not solve the puzzle posed by the 37-year-old Usyk, whose superb movement saw him force the Briton onto the back foot for much of the bout.
Oleksandr Usyk punches Tyson Fury during their unified world heavyweight championship fight. 22 December 2024. Photo: Getty / Richard Pelham
Tipping the scales at a career-high 127 kilograms, 25kg heavier than Usyk, Fury started at a high tempo and tried to control the centre of the ring using his jab, but the Ukrainian matched him and tried back his opponent up by ducking inside and unleashing combinations.
By the fourth round Usyk started to find the range for his left hand, but Fury adjusted and went hard to the body in the fifth as the fight ebbed and flowed.
Fury appeared to be stung late in the sixth with a right hand to the body followed by a sharp left that struck him on the forehead, and by the seventh he slowed, moving to southpaw late in the round as he struggled with fatigue.
Fury's reliance on hard shots in ones and twos to the body did little to stop Usyk from marching forward, usually finishing his flurries with his fearsome left hand.
A good start to the 10th by Fury did not last and Usyk was soon back controlling the angles, finishing the frame at a furious pace and coasting through the final two rounds take a convincing victory.
Oleksandr Usyk looks on against Tyson Fury during World Heavyweight titles' fight. 22 December 2024. Photo: Richard Pelham
Asked in his post-fight interview in the ring if he thought the scorecards were correct, Usyk shrugged.
"I win, it's good ... I'm not the judges, I'm a sportsman, I'm an athlete," Usyk said, before praising his sons who he said had been involved in judo competitions earlier on Sunday.
Usyk was called out in the ring by Britain's Daniel Dubois, who he beat with a ninth-round stoppage in controversial circumstances in August 2023 after a fifth-round knockdown of Usyk was ruled to have been a low blow.
Disappointed by the second loss of his professional career, the usually talkative Fury left the ring without speaking.
-Reuters