Oleksandr Usyk bfats Tyson Fury to become undisputed world heavyweight champion
Oleksandr Usyk has defeated Tyson Fury by split decision to become the undisputed heavyweight world champion.
Fury, 35, lost for the first time in a 16-year professional career after Usyk was announced the winner of the match on Sunday night, May 19, in Saudi Arabia.
Mirror reports that Fury dominated the first half of the fight, belying the magnitude of the night by clowning around at every opportunity.
But Usyk made a stirring comeback in the desert, forcing the referee to issue a count when only the ropes held his rival up in the ninth round.
In a tense wait for the scorecards to be read out, Fury appeared convinced of victory before a stoney-faced Usyk broke down in tears when he was confirmed as the winner, BBC reports.
The scorecards read 115-112 and 114-113 for the Ukrainian, with a third judge scoring it 114-113 to Fury.
Fury will have an opportunity to reclaim the belt in a rematch later this year.
Boxing has been waiting 25 years to crown a new undisputed world heavyweight champion since the heady days’ of Lewis’ reign. Fury and Usyk had amassed all the major world titles between them and were fighting finally to decide the first undisputed heavyweight king of the four-belt era.
“I believe he won a few of the rounds, but I won the majority. It was one of the daftest decisions in boxing. I’ll be back,” a defiant Fury said in the ring.
Usyk takes the WBC belt from Fury, to add to his WBA, WBO and IBF collection.
The 37-year-old remains unbeaten and is the first boxer in almost 25 years to stand tall as the sport’s sole heavyweight world champion.
“Thank you so much to my team. It’s a big opportunity for my family, for me, for my country. It’s a great time, it’s a great day. Yes, of course. I am ready for a rematch,” Usyk said.
