For a second consecutive time, Oleksandr Usyk defeated Tyson Fury by unanimous decision (116-112, 116-112, 116-112) to retain his WBC, WBO and WBA heavyweight world titles on Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The fight was a rematch of Usyk’s split-decision victory over Fury in May. Fury was ahead on two scorecards after eight rounds (77-75, 77-75 and 76-76), but Usyk knocked down Fury in Round 9 and won the next two rounds to move ahead on two scorecards and win 115-112, 114-113 and 113-114. The victory crowned Usyk as the first undisputed heavyweight champion in the four-belt era.
Usyk (23-0, 14 KOs), 37, of Crimea, Ukraine, is a former undisputed cruiserweight champion. He moved up to the heavyweight division in 2019 and has amassed seven consecutive victories, including a unanimous decision against Anthony Joshua to capture the WBO, WBA and IBF titles in 2021. He then defeated Joshua again in the rematch 11 months later to retain the belts.
Fury (34-2-1, 24 KOs), 36, of Manchester, England, last won in a lackluster performance against former UFC champion Francis Ngannou in a boxing match in October 2023.Fury edged a split-decision win, but was knocked down in Round 3 and looked to be in trouble throughout the fight.
More results and round-by-round analysis from Riyadh.
First appeared on www.espn.com