The highly anticipated undisputed heavyweight title fight between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk took place this evening in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Fury (34-1-1) and Usyk (22-0) were initially scheduled to collide this past February, however ‘The Gypsy King’ suffered a nasty cut in training, forcing the bout to be pushed back.
Tyson Fury had most previously competed this past October, where he edged out a hotly debated split decision win over former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou. That victory had marked the Brit’s seventh in a row, as he had previously scored stoppage wins over Derek Chisora, Dillian Whyte and Deontay Wilder respectively.
As for Oleksandr Usyk, the Ukranian champion had last competed in August of last year, where he earned a ninth-round knockout victory over Daniel Dubois. That win was preceded by back-t0-back victories over Anthony Joshua where he claimed and then defended the WBA, WBO and IBF belts.
To ensure tonight’s undisputed heavyweight title fight went forward as planned, Turki Alalshikh put in place a high stakes pullout clause in effect for both fighters.
“I have guarantees from both of the fighters, $10 million if someone escapes from the fight.”
Tonight’s undisputed heavyweight title fight proved to be an absolutely thrilling twelve round affair. Oleksandr Usyk was able to get off to a strong start in rounds one and two, but Tyson Fury came back strongly to arguably win the next four or five rounds. However, in round eight Usyk appeared to break Fury’s nose and then was able to drop ‘The Gypsy King’ the following round with a huge combination (see that here). From there, Usyk seemingly went into cruise and control and in the end was awarded a much-deserved victory.
Official Result: Oleksandr Usyk defeats Tyson Fury via split decision (115-112, 113-114, 114-113)
Check out how the pros reacted to ‘Fury vs. Usyk’ below:
That’s a bold shout, I think if Usyk can get it done it’s via the judges. https://t.co/UoxO8LXpvw
— michael (@bisping) May 18, 2024
Incredible scenes coming from out of Saudi Arabia again this evening! See you guys soon @Turki_alalshikh! Incredible!
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) May 18, 2024
What a round!
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) May 18, 2024
What y’all think about this Fury Usyk fight?
— BONY (@JonnyBones) May 18, 2024
This is a great fight 👏🏼 #FuryUsyk
— bjpenndotcom (@bjpenndotcom) May 18, 2024
Wow, what a huge round eight for Usyk
— BONY (@JonnyBones) May 18, 2024
Should that have been stopped?
— BONY (@JonnyBones) May 18, 2024
That’s bs the fight should have been stopped!!!!
— Anthony PrettyBoy Taylor (@anthony_foreal) May 18, 2024
Post-fight reactions to Oleksandr Usyk defeating Tyson Fury this evening in Saudi Arabia:
So good to watch! Who you got?#FuryUsyk
— Alex Volkanovski (@alexvolkanovski) May 18, 2024
Great fight, good decision too
— Arnold billy allen (@Arnoldbfa) May 18, 2024
What a fight! Hats off to @usykaa, what a legend 👏🏼
— bjpenndotcom (@bjpenndotcom) May 18, 2024
USKY WON THAT FIGHT, ANYTHING ELSE IS A ROBBERY
— Anthony Fowler (@afowler06) May 18, 2024
Knock down seals the deal. Can’t wait for the rematch! #FuryUsyk
— Alex Volkanovski (@alexvolkanovski) May 18, 2024
I’ve always said it’s not the size of the man, but the size of your heart. @usykaa is an inspiration! Congrats champ 🙌🏼 #FuryUsyk
— bjpenndotcom (@bjpenndotcom) May 19, 2024
What did you think of tonight’s heavyweight title fight? Were you surprised by the outcome?
