The much-anticipated heavyweight title bout between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk definitely lived up to the hype after the two undefeated fighters made it all the way to the end in a thrilling back-and-forth battle. In the end, two judges scored in favor of Usyk, making him the first undisputed heavyweight champion in the four-belt era.
The judges' scores were 115-112, 114-113, and 113-114.
Fury narrowly avoided defeat in his last fight against former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, but was once again unable to maintain his championship form against Usyk on Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Fury may have underestimated both Ngannou and Usyk, and Saturday's loss could be further evidence of a steady decline after a long reign as WBC heavyweight champion.
Usyk's technical ability and consistency paid off in the later rounds after Fury dominated the middle rounds. Usyk came back late in the fight and scored a knockdown from Fury in the ninth round. Initially seen as the underdog, Usyk's odds improved as the fight approached, but Fury, who looked perfectly fit at Friday's weigh-in, still entered the ring as the favorite to win.
After the fight, Fury instituted a rematch clause against Usyk and said he intended to have a rematch in October.
Here's how the entire Ring of Fire card unfolds:
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Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk full match results
Heavyweight: Oleksandr Usyk def. Tyson Fury split decision (115-112, 114-113, 113-114)
Cruiserweight: Jay Opetaia def. Mairis Bradys unanimous decision (117-111, 116-112, 116-112)
Super Featherweight: Anthony Cacace def. Joe Cordina, R8 0:39, TKO victory
Heavyweight: Ajit Kabayel def. Frank Sanchez 7R 2 minutes 33 seconds KO
Heavyweight: Moses Itauma def. Ilya Mezentiev, R2 0:50 TKO
Lightweight: Mark Chamberlain def. Joshua Oluwasun Wahab, R1 2:42, TKO
Light Heavyweight: Robin Sarwan Safar def. Sergey Kovalev unanimous decision 97-92, 99-90, 95-94
Cruiserweight: David Nyika def. Michael Seitz, 4th round 2 minutes 45 seconds, won by TKO
