This is a fight that boxing fans will remember for the rest of their lives. Not only because the winner, Oleksandr Usyk, confirmed his status as king of the discipline by becoming the first heavyweight boxer to unify the four belts since Lennox Lewis in 1999. But above all because the Ukrainian and his opponent, Tyson Fury , offered a legendary fight which will be a landmark in the history of the noble art.
Many stars were present at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) to attend this particularly anticipated meeting. Cristiano Ronaldo, Al-Nassr’s star striker, was in the front row with boxer Anthony Joshua, who came to observe the settling of scores between his two rivals. Neymar was also spotted.
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It was around 12:30 a.m. local time that the two fighters entered the arena. As in the ring, the two men adopted very different styles, with Usyk opting for a traditional Ukrainian warrior outfit.
A true showman, Fury, for his part, favored simplicity, choosing to show his relaxation.
Much smaller than his opponent (1m91 compared to 2m06), Usyk took advantage of his entire technical range to put Fury in difficulty during the first rounds, using his jab to put pressure on.
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It was from the fifth round that the Briton, more creative, accelerated, raining down blows under the leadership of his clan, eager to see him drive home the point.
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Unleashed, the “Gipsy King” gained the upper hand throughout the rounds, taking advantage of his reach to keep his opponent at bay.
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But more was needed to reach Usyk. The unified world champion went on the offensive again during the 8th round before delivering several devastating hooks to his opponent during the 9th round. Fury is then not far from falling KO.
Stunned and severely beaten, the Mancunian was remobilized by his clan and resumed the fight, still suffering the domination of Usyk until the end.
Neither boxer managing to knock the other out, it was ultimately a split decision from the judges that the fight was decided in favor of Usyk. The two men ended up congratulating each other, a few moments after a legendary clash.
Oleksandr Usyk is now the undisputed heavyweight champion, holding the IBF, WBA, WBO titles and therefore the WBC belt, until now “owned” by Fury.
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