Fury-Usyk epic increases excitement for potential rematch

Oleksandr Usyk (left) lands a punch on Tyson Fury during the Heavyweight Championship fight at Kingdom Arena, Riyadh. PA Images/Alamy Images

Tyson Fury-Oleksandr Usyk epic increases excitement for potential rematch

By Eric Smithling | Last updated 5/18/24

Oleksandr Usyk's split decision win over Tyson Fury for the unified heavyweight belt should only intensify the demand for a rematch.

Usyk outlasted Fury in the 12-round instant classic, with two judges scoring the fight 115-112 and 114-113 in favor of Usyk and one scoring it 114-113 Fury.

When the two boxers agreed to their Saturday fight, the contract included a clause the loser could trigger for a rematch.

Fury had Usyk on the ropes early, appearing to take over in the fifth round. When he landed an uppercut one round later, Fury seemed moments away from taking complete control of the fight.

But Usyk surged late, including nearly recording a knockout in the ninth by landing a flurry of punches on Fury with under 30 seconds left in the round. Fury was fortunate the bell rang before Usyk finished the job.

TYSON FURY SAVED BY THE BELL pic.twitter.com/vVaRj67pT0
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 18, 2024

With the win, Usyk is the first unified heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis secured all belts during a 1999 fight with Evander Holyfield.

Usyk added Fury's World Boxing Council (WBC) title belt to his collection which already included belts from the World Boxing Association (WBA), International Boxing Federation (IBF), World Boxing Organization (WBO) and The Ring.

Usyk improved to 22-0 with the win, while Fury dropped to 34-1-1 in suffering his first career defeat.

If we're lucky, he'll clean his wounds and quickly request a rematch to Saturday's epic, which would likely occur in October.

As hyped as the boxing world was for the generational heavyweight unification bout, the outstanding effort put forth by both Fury and Usyk could make the sequel even bigger.

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