Sunday Convo: Oleksandr Usyk Is HW King & Number One P4P

The opening bell finally rang, and Fury hurried to the center ring to meet Usyk, but it was Usyk who started quickly with his right jab. Usyk kept touching Fury with his right jab, but Fury was too clever for it. He adjusted quickly by landing his own jabs. Fury also started landing hard shots at Usyk’s body, hoping to expose it as Daniel Dubois did in their last fight. A slight cut developed over Usyk’s right eye in the fourth round but would be a non-issue throughout the fight. The story of the first half of the fight was Usyk consistently landing the overhand left, and Fury not only dedicated his attack to the body but also came in with a right uppercut that he couldn’t miss.

Fury would dictate the pace from rounds four through six, but in the seventh round, after being buzzed the previous round, Usyk came out determined to shift the momentum back in his direction. Usyk would get buzzed by a Fury uppercut but would steal the round with a four-punch combination. In the eighth round, Usyk landed a big overhand left to start the round and would follow it later with a right hook that buzzed Fury, forcing him to retreat a bit. Fury would finish the round, but a sizeable mouse was growing underneath his right eye.

The ninth round was the most discussed round of the fight. Towards the middle of the round, Usyk would land a 1-2 combination that ended with a left hook that hurt Fury badly. He was on shaky legs, and Usyk jumped all over him. Fury would fall on the ropes three times, looking visibly knocked out on his feet. If this was any other fight, it was enough for the referee to stop it but given Fury’s track record for recovering quickly, the referee let it go until he couldn’t anymore. He would give Fury a standing eight count, and the sound of the bell signifying the end of the round would soon follow. It was a nightmare round for Fury.

He would come back in much better shape the next round, but by then, Usyk knew he had Fury. The championship rounds saw Usyk continue his dominance while Fury tried his best to land a home run shot. Although it appeared to be a close but decisive win for Usyk, they still needed to see what the judges had to say. Usyk was favored on two scorecards (115-112 & 114-113) while the other went to Fury (114-113). It was much closer than expected, and if Usyk hadn’t scored the knockdown, there would have been a draw.

The fight met expectations, but Usyk’s performance was the night’s story. There were times he was hurt, but his will and determination allowed him to weather the storm. Usyk didn’t fight a perfect fight, but what he was able to do to Fury is what you expect from a top pound-for-pound fighter. No one has been able to hurt Fury in that manner, and he did so while taking heavy shots from Fury. Usyk has now been an undisputed champion in two weight classes, joining an elite group of fighters who have done so.

Are We Going To See The Rematch In October?

“I believe I won that fight. I believe he won a few of the rounds. I thought I won a majority of them, and I believe it was a — what can you do — these are the decisions in boxing. We both put on a good fight, the best we could do,” Fury said, “We go back, have a little rest up, spend some time with our families, and get it back on in October.”

The talk after the fight was about a rematch in October between Usyk & Fury. It’s in their contract that they would fight two times, but it’s not only up to them but also up to Turki Alalshikh , who tends to make other matches even with a rematch clause as he did with heavyweight Zhilei Zhang after his loss to Joseph Parker. Usyk & Fury took a lot of punishment, and both fighters will be different after this one as they left a piece of themselves in the ring on Saturday night. I think they will extend their time off and do it again, but it will be in the first quarter of 2025. Whenever they do it, the rematch will undoubtedly be one hot ticket.