Last Updated on May 21, 2024 by grubdunkman

Finaly on May 18th in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the long-awaited heavyweight title bout took place. The athletes came into this bout exceptionally well-prepared, perhaps in the best shape of their careers. As Usyk said after the fight, which was postponed several times for various reasons, it was one of the toughest training camps of his career—eight months of constant training.

Fury was also in excellent condition, having lost weight and increased his stamina. Thanks to this titanic effort by the athletes and their teams, we witnessed a true celebration of boxing. The whole world, without exaggeration, watched this event. Two undefeated champions. Four belts. The heavyweight division. A celebration of boxing.

Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury gave spectators 12 rounds of pure boxing that the sport will always remember. For the first time in 25 years, all four belts found their owner. With a split decision by the judges, Oleksandr Usyk etched his name into boxing history.

An Olympic champion. The undisputed champion in two weight categories. 0 losses on his record.

Usyk vs Fury Round-by-Round Summary and Judges’ Scores

Round 1

Usyk’s crisp jabs and overhand lefts gave him a clear advantage.

10-9 Usyk; 10-9 Usyk; 10-9 Usyk

Round 2

Usyk continued his effective pressure, though Fury landed some body shots.

10-9 Fury; 10-9 Fury; 10-9 Usyk

Round 3

Fury countered well, but it was a close round.

10-9 Usyk; 10-9 Usyk; 10-9 Fury

Round 4

Fury found his rhythm, landing significant punches.

10-9 Usyk; 10-9 Fury; 10-9 Fury

Round 5

Fury moved forward effectively, targeting Usyk’s body.

10-9 Fury; 10-9 Fury; 10-9 Fury

Round 6

Both fighters landed powerful shots, with Fury taking control.

10-9 Fury; 10-9 Fury; 10-9 Fury

Round 7

Usyk increased his output, landing hard shots.

10-9 Fury; 10-9 Fury; 10-9 Fury

Round 8

Usyk dominated, opening a cut on Fury’s eye.

10-9 Usyk; 10-9 Usyk; 10-9 Usyk

Round 9

Usyk landed several overhand lefts, knocking Fury down.

10-8 Usyk; 10-8 Usyk; 10-8 Usyk

Round 10

Usyk allowed Fury to recover, but still landed more punches.

10-9 Usyk; 10-9 Usyk; 10-9 Usyk

Round 11

Both fighters were exhausted, but Usyk landed cleaner shots.

10-9 Usyk; 10-9 Fury; 10-9 Usyk

Round 12

Usyk maintained his aggression, landing consistent left hands.

10-9 Usyk; 10-9 Usyk; 10-9 Usyk

Result

Usyk wins by split decision, unifying the heavyweight titles.

115-112 to Usyk, 114-113 to Fury, and 114-113 to Usyk

Usyk vs Fury Fight Backstage

As trash talk is part of the business that fuels interest in fights and chatty athletes, it directly impacts viewership and partly shapes the total generated revenue, much was said before the bout. Fury’s father tested the resilience of his forehead against a member of Usyk’s team during a hallway encounter at the venue days before the fight. But in the end, sportsmanship took precedence, and mutual respect was demonstrated.

Fury Sr. apologized for his actions, and the trash talk simmered down. Although Fury disagreed with the fight’s outcome, proclaiming that he felt he had done enough to beat Usyk and attributing the judges’ decision to political bias due to the war in Ukraine, the Gypsy King refrained from more radical statements, sticking to sporting comments.

Immediately after the fight, both athletes agreed to a rematch, but different opinions and ideas began to surface. These ranged from the possibility of both Usyk and Fury retiring to speculations about matchups with top fighters in the division to create future exciting events, including names like Anthony Joshua (28-3), Joseph Parker (35-3), Agit Kabayel (25-0), and Daniel Dubois (20-2), among others.

Certainly, many more fights await us in the royal division. And all boxing fans hope that the names Fury and Usyk will resound in arenas many more times.

The significance of this bout is evident from afar, and its full impact is yet to be fully realized by fans and professionals in the sweet science business. However, recognition of the historic nature of this event for the sport has already been voiced by many analysts, athletes, and boxing legends such as Evander Hollifield and Lenox Lewis (hevyweight undisputed 1999) and others.

Heavyweight Division Future

The main question now is, what’s next for the heavyweight division?

Turki Al Al-Sheikh, Chairman of the Saudi Arabian General Authority for Entertainment, has played a significant role in the development of event and entertainment organization in Riyadh. Under his support, several high-level matches have already taken place, so we hope that in the future, the Kingdom Arena will become the venue for many more sports events.

Undercart Fight Results Summary

Anthony Cacace vs. Joe Cordina

IBF super featherweight title

Cacace won via eighth-round TKO 

Agit Kabayel vs. Frank Sanchez

WBC heavyweight championship eliminator

Kabayel won via seventh-round KO 

Moses Itauma vs. Ilija Mezencev

Vacant WBO Intercontinental heavyweight title

Itauma won via second-round TKO 

Mark Chamberlain vs. Joshua Wahab

WBC silver lightweight title

Chamberlain won via first-round KO

Robin Sirawn Safar vs. Sergey Kovalev

Safar won via unanimous decision (97-92, 99-90, 95-94)

David Nyika vs. Michael Seitz

Nyika won via fourth-round TKO