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Last night (Sat., May 18, 2024), Oleksandr Usyk defeat Tyson Fury to become undisputed Heavyweight champion in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

By most any standards, Usyk vs. Fury was a great fight. Really, there wasn’t any controversy either, as Usyk was able to win long portions of the bout and score a knockdown. His success and performance would generally result in a clear-cut victory, but this is boxing, so Usyk was named the winner via split-decision.

As is usually the case between high-level champions, both athletes brought game plans into the ring with them. For Usyk, his strategy was obvious from the first bell. He wanted to press Fury into the fence and work the body with his left hand, dulling Fury to that inevitable moment when the left looped upstairs instead. Conversely, Fury opted to work the outside. He anticipated Usyk’s pressure, and his antidote was to flash the jab, feint actively, and sneak counter shots up the middle.

What’s really fun is that we saw both game plans work! For most of the first three rounds, Uysk’s pressure and volume were the deciding factors. He committed himself fully to the body work, and when he did take his left hand high, it tended to land a result. In rounds four through six, however, Fury’s game plan really took over. His probing jab allowed him to start timing Usyk with heavy uppercuts, and when Usyk hesitated for a moment, Fury was able to unleash his own ripping body shots to great effect.

Through six rounds, it was almost perfectly even. Fury entered the latter half of the fight with all the momentum on his side, yet just a few minutes later, he was nearly unconscious. The bell saved him, but Fury wouldn’t find all that much success in the final 18 minutes of combat.

What was the deciding factor?

To my eye, the primary difference was focus. Usyk kept his eyes on the prize for the entirety of 36 minutes, whereas Fury sought moments to take his foot off the gas. I’m not even talking about Fury’s habit of dropping his hands and showboating — that’s standard “Gypsy King” antics. Instead, I’m pointing to the little moments, the times Fury opted to stand against the ropes rather than work off immediately. How about the start of almost every round? Each time the bell rang, Usyk stepped down the middle with a serious left hand swing.

In a fight where both men had strong moments and viable paths to victory, Usyk’s utter focus and determination won him the fight. He utterly refused to take his foot off the gas. Even when met with adversity and hard counters, Usyk doubled down and pressed harder. He was always inching Fury down the path that would lead to an Usyk victory, and that’s a lot easier said than done against a world-class opponent.

Championship mettle was on display.

Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury both did enough to win the undisputed heavyweight crown earlier tonight (Sat., May 18, 2024) at Ring of Fire live on DAZN PPV in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, but it was Usyk who scored a late knockdown that eventually led to a split-decision win.

Was it the right call?

This heavyweight title fight had it all. Usyk jumped out to an early lead by utilizing his speed and shot selection to get to Fury’s chin and body. Fury returned favor in the middle frames with slamming hooks to the body and upper cuts that took Usyk off his feet. Usyk survived, though, as he wouldn’t be denied his chance at greatness.

The Ukrainian champion returned with vengeance in the ninth round as he rocked Fury and wobbled him bad. Fury, who has gone down before, could not be knocked off his feet. Usyk didn’t mind, though, as he landed big shot after big shot before the referee stepped in to give Fury a 10 count. That moment essentially sealed the fight when the scorecards were read after 12 hard rounds.

At the end of it all, Usyk walked away with the split-decision win. Fury thought he had won the fight, but Usyk had the bigger moment and finished the fight strong. Check out the official scorecard below and let us know how you saw the fight going:

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For complete Fury vs. Usyk results, coverage, and highlights click HERE.

History was just made in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury threw down for 12 rounds in a match filled with momentum surges. Usyk started strong, pressuring Fury from the first bell and beginning a non-stop assault on Fury’s mid-section. A couple rounds in, however, Fury had picked up on his opponent’s timing. He began to land his own brutal body punches, as well as heavy counter uppercuts.

Midway through, it was anyone’s fight. Usyk refused to take his foot off the gas, however, pushing forward through some heavy shots and landing a left hand that rattled Fury. “The Gypsy King” was out on his feet, bouncing off the ropes left and right. Somehow, he survived the onslaught, but it did (rightly) cost him a knockdown on the scorecards.

Suddenly, Fury was deep in the hole. He managed to get back into the fight and potentially steal the twelfth, but Usyk largely controlled the latter third of the fight. Subsequently, he was named victor … though Fury doesn’t see it that way. According to Fury, he won the majority of the rounds, and Usyk is enjoying sympathy because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“I believe I won that fight. I believe he won a few of the rounds, but I won a majority of them. What can you do? One of those decisions in boxing. We both put on a good fight, best we can do. You know, his country is at war, so people are siding with a country at war. Make no mistake, I won that fight in my opinion.

I’ll be back. I’ve got a rematch clause. I thank Jesus for all the victories he’s given me. I got a split-decision loss to a good little man, and I thank him again … we run it back in October. Good luck to Oleksandr, well done, God bless you.”

Indeed, a rematch clause is written into Fury’s contract, so a second showdown between the two is all but certain. Whether or not it happens in October remains to be seen, but the Fury vs. Usyk saga isn’t over just yet.