On Saturday night, December 21, at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, undefeated WBO, WBA, WBC World Heavyweight Champion Oleksandr Usyk defeated Tyson “The Gypsy King” Fury for the second time to cement his place as the pound- the four-pound king, and the best heavyweight of this era.
Tyson Fury entered the rematch well prepared, as he was focused on executing his game plan. Fury started the fight with the adjustment he made from the first fight, but despite the adjustment, at the end of the fight Usyk was once again declared the winner.
Oleksandr Usyk won his first world title back in September 2016 when he defeated Krzysztof Glowacki by unanimous decision to win the WBO cruiserweight title. Two years later, Usyk became the unified champion when he defeated Mairis Briedis to win the WBC belt.
Usyk would go on to make history by defeating Murat Gassiev and capturing the WBA and IBF world title belts. With the victory, Oleksandr Usyk became the first undisputed cruiserweight champion in the four-belt era. Usyk also became the first cruiserweight to go undisputed since Evander Holyfield did so 30 years ago in 1988.
While Usyk dominated the cruiserweight division, a trio of boxers battled for position as boxing fans tried to figure out who would become the king of the heavyweight division. Tyson Fury was a boxer, Anthony Joshua was a popular boxer and puncher, and Deontay Wilder was known as a knockout artist.
Fury and Wilder will face each other in December 2018, as an entertaining bout ended in a split decision. Back in February 2020, Fury got a rematch and seemed ready to break away and become the top heavyweight. However, a year later, a wild card formally introduced him to the division.
On September 25, 2021, Oleksandr Usyk made a statement when he defeated heavyweight face Anthony Joshua via unanimous decision to win the WBA, IBF and WBO titles. Joshua was better prepared for the second fight, but failed again, as Usyk won the rematch by split decision.
Usyk continued to fight against Daniel Dubois, and stopped him in the 9th round. Next on Usyk's agenda was a chance to make history when he stepped into the ring in May 2024 to face undefeated WBC world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.
Usyk was the aggressor as he forced Fury to fight on the back foot. At the end of the 12-round contest, Oleksandr Usyk won by split decision. By defeating Fury, Oleksandr Usyk made history by becoming the third male boxer to remain undisputed in two weight classes.
Seven months later, the long-awaited rematch took place. Early in the fight, Fury showed an adjustment as he pushed forward and was the aggressor. However, as the fight progressed, the southpaw Usyk was able to retake the role of aggressor as he pushed forward and landed heavy left hand shots consistently.
When the match ended, Oleksandr Usyk was once again declared the winner, as all three judges scored the fight 116-112 in favor of Usyk. With the victory, Usyk defeated Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury twice.
With four wins overall against Joshua and Fury, and a win over Daniel Dubois, Oleksandr Usyk has proven that he is the current number one fighter in the world and the best heavyweight of this era.
With a combination of his boxing skills, footwork, timing, placement and intelligence in the ring, one-of-a-kind World Heavyweight Champion Oleksandr Usyk (23-0, 14 KOs) is a matchup nightmare.
The 37-year-old Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk has officially conquered the heavyweight division, and now the question is whether he will stay in the heavyweight division or return to the cruiserweight division?