Oleksandr Usyk beats Tyson Fury to retain heavyweight titles as epic rematch delivers in Riyadh

Oleksandr Usyk won his rematch against Tyson Fury in Riyadh to retain his world championship belts.

The Ukrainian came into the match-up with the WBA, WBC and WBO belts after winning the first match in May.

And he claimed the victory after all three judges' scorecards read 116-112.

Fury kept his distance in the first round, with his surprisingly heavy frame allowing him to dominate the middle of the ring. 

Usyk had the best early attack, but Fury landed a heavy blow of his own, but neither man made a decisive impression early.

Fury returned to his corner and without John Fury’s presence, SugarHill Steward’s voice came over far more clearly than it had back in May.

In the second round, Usyk attempted to take the initiative, as he had with the press for most of the build-up. The smaller man might have edged it, darting to his right to duck under Fury’s defence to strike his opponent, though Fury connected with some hearty body shots, and landed a full-blooded effort seconds from the bell that had Usyk reminded of the power of the man he was in with.

Usyk appealed to the ref at the opening of the third round for what he felt was a blow to the back of his head, but he got little encouragement. Fury showed his technical ability and confidence, with a brief switch to southpaw.

Fury targeted Usyk’s body - vulnerable in the past against Daniel Dubois when he was fortunate to be given the referee’s grace from a relatively low blow - early in the fourth, and Fury was holding his ground well. Usyk then sent an overhand left to rattle Fury’s jaw, recalling, only slightly, that ninth-round panic he felt back in May. 

The fifth saw the pair clinch as the Ukrainian upped the pace, but Fury retained control of the ring centre, hitting Usyk’s body hard.

Approaching the end of the sixth round, Usyk clattered Fury with a heavy left, and followed up well to keep his opponent alive to the danger he posed.

As the pair completed the seventh and eighth, it was still in the hands of both fighters - and the judges - before the arrival of the championship rounds.

Cheers greeted aggression from both men as the crowd looked for a stoppage rather than a decision, but they each gave as good as they got in the 11th, and the 12th round gave way to anticipation, before Usyk was given the nod.

In truth, Fury had failed to show that he deserved to dislodge the incumbent, and apart from an all-British extravaganza against Anthony Joshua, he may be tempted by retirement.

The result, barring a trilogy rematch that promoter Frank Warren has mentioned, may see a great modern rivalry settled. Fury and Usyk fought first in May. After Riyadh Season had launched as the home of boxing, it had finally found its most prestigious residents.

Before, during, and after the first fight - the fight that crowned the world’s first four-belt heavyweight undisputed champion - both men showed the other respect. It was too important to play it off as anything else.

Usyk knew that Fury dwarfed him by six inches, and several stones. The Ukrainian had the technique, but for much of his career, the Briton was something of a freak for his ring IQ and mobility despite his looming, outsize presence.

Of course, there were flashes of personality. The bonhomie in the lead-up to the first fight ended when Fury flipped his switch and demonstrated an aggression he had kept hidden, trying to admonish and intimidate his slighter opponent.

In the end, it did not matter. Usyk had ducked and weaved for much of his career, his playfulness out of the ring matched by his deftness in it. Similarly, Fury’s occasionally brutish approach had seen him battered by Deontay Wilder first, and then Francis Ngannou in Riyadh second. Both in their mid-thirties, but where one showed himself to be ragged and boisterous, the other was composed and ready.  Usyk was dominated early, Fury was rattled late. 

In the aftermath, though, neither fighter could conceal their respect. They had put on a magnificent display of boxing, both adroit and both human. Usyk had done his country proud against the dreadful background of war, while Britain could be confident their man had come close to glory.

The rematch, then, offered Fury the chance of redemption. He sometimes acts as the entertainer, but he had largely kept his counsel since his defeat. A hermit-like beard might have caused minor controversy, but it betrayed at least the image of a determined and focused fighter. He said he had exiled himself from his family for months in his attempt to dedicate himself to his latest second chance. A dreadful period where he was haunted by demons of his past thankfully seems to have been banished, but another loss throws his professional future into doubt.

For Usyk, this fight felt less personal, more professional. He had the pride of his unbeaten record to put on the line, but he had already become the first undisputed champion, and he had passed up his IBF strap long ago. There were millions on the line, but on offer to him was a blemish-free, enhanced record, and to prove that the split-decision was a mistake - he could perhaps stop Fury or claim a win with a unanimous judges’ verdict. 

Having come through the amateurs, then cruiserweight, then heavyweight - with a brief deviation to his country’s Territorial Defence Force in early 2022. While Fury felt the expectation of a nation, Usyk’s identity was under existential threat. 

On Friday, Fury and Usyk had stayed clothed at their weigh-in, with Fury 50lbs heavier than his shorter opponent. That extra weight was meant to give him an advantage to press home, to be able to walk down his rival.

On Saturday, disrobed but for shorts pulled almost comically high, and observers such as Carl Frampton switched their prediction to back Usyk. His physique brought into question his preparation for the fight, though his bulk suggested that he would at the very least provide a hugely intimidating  and dangerous presence for the first four or five rounds. Beyond that, his stamina looked in doubt, and so it proved, as he was unable to force the issue.

For Usyk, there are no more lands to conquer. There will be paydays offered up, perhaps even a trilogy that may seem somewhat bloodless, but he is right now the finest boxer of 2024, and perhaps one of the greatest of all time.

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