The Ukranian Olympic Gold Medalist became two-division undisputed by dethroning Tyson "Gypsy King" Fury.
The gap-toothed phenom captured my heart in 2012, as I watched his funny dance celebrations at the London Olympics. That admiration grew during his pro career, watching him battle through a stacked cruiserweight division in the WBSS while I studied for my last year of college. My former roommate and I celebrated with daytime Modelos, following his clinical performance against power-puncher Murat Gassiev in 2018.
While his rise to heavyweight was anticipated, his two impressive victories over Olympic gold medalist Anthony Joshua following lackluster performances against lower-tier heavyweights weren't expected. Many, myself included, felt his size would eventually betray the Ukrainian legend, but Oleksandr Usyk proved that dedication and skill could challenge size, even at heavyweight.
This past Saturday in Saudi Arabia, he proved most people wrong again. Tyson Fury toyed with Usyk for the first half of the fight, taunting him as he tried to press the taller fighter against the ropes—the same ropes that held him up in the 9th round. The referee, who momentarily stepped in before the bell, received heavy criticism from fans who feel he robbed Usyk of a stoppage victory.
Fury, using his veteran arsenal to survive, recovered well enough to win the last round on all three judges' scorecards. Regardless, that round wasn’t enough to overcome the 10-8 round where Usyk almost finished the fight in devastating fashion. After 12 rounds of elite-level action, Usyk edged out a split-decision victory with scorecards of 115-112 and 114-113 for Usyk, and 114-113 for Fury. While the fight could have gone either way, Usyk’s determination to systematically break Fury down with relentless pressure, despite getting hurt multiple times, fulfilled his fight-week threat of not letting Fury retain his comfortable rhythm.
After the pound-for-pound performance delivered by both fighters, boxing fans are already salivating at the possibility of an immediate rematch happening in October back in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. As with most high-level fights between top champions, a rematch clause was included in the original fight contract. With Fury expressing his disagreement with the decision post-fight, it is very plausible he will activate the immediate rematch.
Fury, who looked like a shadow of his prime in his previous showing against MMA’s Francis Ngannou last fall, redeemed himself in the eyes of many by putting on one of the best performances of his career. The lanky fighter utilized his height and reach in the first half of the fight to maintain his distance and exert the least amount of energy while fending Usyk off. Usyk, while clearly hurt to the body various times, eventually got his own bodywork to slow the bigger fighter down and ultimately win on the cards.
CAN TYSON FURY BEAT USYK IN THE REMATCH?
In short, yes. Tyson Fury won the genetic lottery, and just as those advantages caused Usyk trouble from the first round, they can do it again in a rematch. Fury has also shown he can adjust well in rematches, beating Deontay Wilder in a more dominant manner since their initial “draw.”
Usyk, too, has proved he can go the distance and still come out on top. As we saw in both Joshua fights, Usyk can endure against bigger, stronger champions, withstand their worst onslaughts, and still emerge victorious. His boxing IQ and Olympic pedigree alone allow him to adapt to any peril and turn into any established heavyweight's nightmare.
In my opinion, Usyk wins a rematch in a more comfortable manner.
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