At long last, the much-awaited fight between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk is in the books, and what a fight we’ve had. With many shouts for it being a candidate for the best fight of the year already, the enthralling 12-round contest delivered on all fronts. That said, let’s see what truly transpired in the fight.
As expected, both Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk did what they are good at, that is trying to take their opponent’s head off. Whilst both fighters started off with a body-heavy approach, the focus shifted upstairs in the latter rounds. By the end, Usyk had suffered a cut above his right eye, whilst Fury had a bloodied nose and a welt under his right eye, meaning that both fighters gave as good as they got.
THE PRIDE OF UKRAINE.
A DREAM COME TRUE.
👑🇺🇦 @Usykaa is UNDISPUTED. #FuryUsyk pic.twitter.com/gMvpA63BAQ
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) May 18, 2024
With both fighters having dominating spells throughout the fight, it made for a good watch. Here, Usyk excelled with his precise striking, truly making a statement in Rounds 7,8,9 and 10. That said, Fury did a lot of good work in the earlier rounds, at times looking like he was having too much fun. In the end, some would say that it ended up costing him as Usyk was eventually declared the winner by way of a split decision.
Tyson Fury was nearly knocked out by Oleksandr Usyk in Round 9
For the most part, there were numerous talking points from the fight and many more will likely emerge later on. That said, one of the biggest highlights was the near stoppage from Oleksandr Usyk in Round 9. Having mounted his comeback in Round 7 and 8, the Ukrainian really turned up the heat in Round 9. Thus, his actions were not only a turning point in the fight but also a big point of discussion.
Having connected with a solid left hook, Usyk had Tyson Fury looking for the stars. Realizing that he had the big man hurt, he kept unloading to the point where Fury was left backpedaling as his legs started giving away. After taking a huge tumble against the ropes, the referee stepped in to give Fury a standing count. However, seeing the condition the Englishman was in, he could have easily stopped the fight.
The ref had money on fury lmfao
— ZTNBlanco (@ZtnBlanco) May 18, 2024
The ref should have stopped the fight!!!
— FanScorecard (@fanscorecard) May 18, 2024
That definitely won him the fight, the Drake curse lives in
— Dr. Bento Hyde (@DrBentoHyde) May 18, 2024
At this point, fury should just retire ☹️
— Danny Miller (@Dannymiller001) May 18, 2024
Fury is so hurt. He’s lucky those ropes kept him standing.
— Michael Cooley (@Silky_Moose) May 18, 2024
Naturally, there was a massive uproar as to why exactly it wasn’t given as a stoppage. Seeing that Tyson was still on his feet, and refusing to go down despite the brutal beating, the referee, especially considering the occasion, likely made the right call. In addition to that, seeing that it was nearly the end of the round, and plenty of fight still left, it was in fact a sound decision. Regardless, it was a massive factor as it resulted in a 10-8 round for Usyk.
Tyson Fury believes that he won the fight and is ready for the immediate rematch
As mentioned previously, despite Tyson Fury having the lead and seeming to be in control of the fight near the midway point, things were very much in the balance by the start of Round 11. That said, Fury did manage to make some improvement and actually gave Oleksandr Usyk a fight. However, by the end of Round 12, many will agree in saying that Fury took his foot off the gas, and it quite evidently cost him the fight.
In the end, the scorecards read 115-112, 113-114, and 114-113 in favor of Oleksandr Usyk. That said, there was a lot of respect shown between the two fighters and Tyson Fury seemed to be in a jolly mood regardless of the outcome. That said, what he had to say in the post-fight interview was a little surprising for many:
Tyson Fury delivers his first thoughts 🎤👀 pic.twitter.com/c0TByKB7ix
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) May 18, 2024
“I believe I won that fight, I believe he won a few of the rounds, but I won the majority of them. We both put on a good fight. His country is at war, so people are siding with the country at war. Make no mistake, I won that fight in my opinion. We’ve got a rematch clause. I’ve had a split decision loss to a good little man. We run it back in October. Good luck to Oleksandr, well done.”
Thus, despite what should have been a more clearer win on the scorecards for Oleksandr Usyk, Tyson Fury made a bold claim of having won that fight. That along with his reasoning for it was quite bizarre to many. All things considered, the important part was that both parties were on board with the rematch clause and will now be looking forward to the rematch later this year.