Throughout the long history of the heavyweight division, prior to 2024, there had never been a heavyweight champion able to hold all four of the sanctioning body’s belts simultaneously.
For most of history This is good. Because until recently The idea of having the right to compete in four events in a single championship would seem absolutely ridiculous. But we live in a world where we have to. It’s not the world we want. And so there is real importance to the May meeting between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk to truly be crowned undisputed heavyweight champion.
Although not wearing a belt But this was also a milestone: Fury was recognized as the true heavyweight champion and spent 30 months in the wilderness. Since defeating Wladimir Klitschko in November 2015
Meanwhile, Usyk accumulated four belts in the cruiserweight division before truly joining the heavyweights. and beats Derek Chisora, Daniel Dubois, and most notably twice over Anthony. Joshua makes him a top contender for the Gypsy King.
Both men were unbeaten, but even Fury was the favourite, and at the halfway point of the match He seems certain to retain his crown. But the Ukrainian proved relentless. As Fury attacked the crowd, Usyk kept his focus, and in the ninth round he broke through, staggering Fury for an eight-count and standing close. The victory was won in injury time.
In this case, he won in splits. And although one of the sanctioning bodies decided to award the belt to Dubois, boxing has a new undisputed champion in the flagship division.
One hundred and eight million. According to Netflix, Jake Paul-Mike Tyson’s average viewers per minute in November That would have been a staggeringly high number even in boxing’s heyday. But in its current incarnation as a freak show, it’s almost incomprehensible. What boxing match arouses even the slightest interest and interest? Without mentioning the Monday morning quarterback and the outright conspiracy theories that followed.
Most of the credit goes to Paul. A talented boxer and talented self-promoter. But the star of the show is 58-year-old Tyson, who remains the sport’s most notable figure despite his rape conviction and the fact that he Shot as a fighter two decades ago.
Pre-fight naysayers argued that this was closer to elder abuse than actual combat. It has certainly been proven correct. As a confused Tyson watched and chewed on his gloves as Paul spent eight abbreviated rounds circling him. Luckily, the card also includes Katie Taylor-Amanda Serrano II and Mario Barrios-Abel Ramos, ensuring millions of viewers around the world get to see some truly skilled, meaningful and exciting boxing action.
Crowning a new heavyweight champion certainly means more. But in terms of eyeballs, interest and size, nothing in boxing has come close to this for many years.
Where to start with this? Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia meeting for the former’s 140-pound belt should be an intriguing and important matchup without any extraneous elements. But the extraneous elements are what we get.
First, Garcia’s social media in the weeks leading up to the fight suggested a young man who might need more counseling than a physical fight. and this led to calls for the fight not to continue. By the time Garcia weighed in at over three and a half pounds. cause more concern Garcia then goes out and kicks Haney’s ass. Left him three times on the way to a clear decision.
“Ah!” There were cries from some areas. Garcia isn’t crazy. But he is crazy like a fox. And his weird comments and posts on social media are just a way to get into Haney’s head and promote the fight. Except that they continued after the battle. As Garcia shines more and more to the demon he was fighting Garcia then tested positive for ostarine. He cheated once because he lost weight. and twice by taking PEDs. The fight was declared a no-contest. and Haney, who might still be able to win if he tried to block Garcia’s left hand even once. A lawsuit has been filed on charges of battery, fraud and breach of contract. Oh, boxing.
