On Saturday night, December 21, at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the undefeated WBO, WBA, WBC world heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk defeated Tyson “The Gypsy King” Fury for a second time and solidified his place as pound-for-pound king, and the best heavyweight of this era.
Tyson Fury came into the rematch well prepared, as he was focused on executing his game plan. Fury started the attack with an adjustment that he made from the first fight, but despite the adjustment, at the end of the contest, Usyk was again declared the winner.
Oleksandr Usyk won his first world title in September 2016 when he defeated Krzysztof Glowacki by unanimous decision and won the WBO cruiserweight title. Two years later, Usyk became a unified champion when he beat Mairis Briedis and won the WBC strap.
Usyk would go on to make history by defeating Murat Gassiev and collecting the WBA and IBF world title belts. With the win, Oleksandr Usyk became the first undisputed cruiserweight champion of the four-belt era. Usyk also became the first cruiserweight to go undisputed since Evander Holyfield did it 30 years earlier, in 1988.
While Usyk dominated the cruiserweight division, a trio of boxers were jockeying for position as boxing fans tried to figure out who would become the heavyweight king. Tyson Fury was the boxer, Anthony Joshua was the popular boxer, and Deontay Wilder was known as the knockout artist.
Fury and Wilder will clash in December 2018 as the entertaining bout ended in a split decision draw. Back in February 2020, Fury won the rematch, and it looked like he was ready to separate himself and become the first heavyweight. However, a year later, a wild card made its formal introduction to the division.
On September 25, 2021, Oleksandr Usyk made a statement when he defeated the face of the heavyweight division, Anthony Joshua, by unanimous decision and won the WBA, IBF and WBO titles. Joshua was better prepared for the second fight, but fell again, as Usyk won the rematch by split decision.
Usyk continued to fight 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 conclusion of the 12-round contest, Oleksandr Usyk won via a split decision. With the win over Fury, Oleksandr Usyk made history by becoming the third male boxer to go undisputed in two weight classes.
Seven months later, the much-anticipated rematch happened. Early in the fight, Fury showed some adjustment as he came forward and was the aggressor. However, as the fight continued, the southpaw Usyk was able to regain the role of the aggressor as he pressed forward and consistently landed hard left hand shots.
When the match ended, Oleksandr Usyk was again declared the winner, as all three judges scored the match 116-112 in favor of Usyk. With the victory, Usyk beat Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury twice.
With the four total wins against Joshua and Fury, and the win over Daniel Dubois, Oleksandr Usyk has proven that he is the current pound for pound fighter in the world and the best heavyweight of this era.
With the combination of his boxing skills, footwork, timing, punch placement, and ring intelligence, unified world heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk (23-0, 14 KOs) is a matchup nightmare.
37-year-old Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk has officially conquered the heavyweight division, and now the question is, will he stay at heavyweight or make a return to the cruiserweight division?
