The heavyweight crown has found a home – on the head of Oleksandr Usyk.
Usyk beat Fury by split decision on Saturday to become the undisputed heavyweight world champion. The judges scored the fight 115-112, 113-114, 114-113 in favor of Usyk.
Usky is the first to hold the heavyweight title in 25 years. The last to do it was Lennox Lewis in 1999, and Lewis was on hand to watch a battle of unbeatens in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Usyk scored the only knockdown, which came in the eighth round, when Fury was saved by the bell.
Usyk, the Ukrainian, improved to 22-0. Fury, the Brit, 35-1-1.
After the scorecards were read and Usyk was the official winner, Fury kissed the Ukrainian on the head, and the two embraced.
But Fury was less gracious during an in-ring interview.
He intimated the judges awarded the fight to Usyk out of sympathy because Ukraine is at war with Russia.
“You know his country’s at war, so people are siding for the country at war,’’ Fury said. “Make no mistake, I won that fight, and I’ll be back.’’
Fury said he will exercise a rematch clause and said the fight will take place in October.
Fury, again just moments after losing to Usyk by split decision, threw that one last punch.
It was a very low blow of the metaphorical variety.
Fury intimated that Usyk, the Ukrainian boxer, had been awarded the fight because Ukraine is at war.
Russia invaded Ukraine more than two years ago.
“You know his country’s at war, so people are siding for the country at war,’’ Fury said during an in-ring interview. “Make no mistake. I won that fight, and I’ll be back.’’
Manuel Oliver Palermo of Spain scored the fight 115-112 in favor of Usyk and Craig Metcalfe of Canada scored it 114-113 in favor of Usyk.
Mike Fitzgerald of the United States scored it 114-113 in favor of Fury.
“I believe I won that fight,’’ Fury said. “I believe he won a few of the rounds. I won the majority of them.’’
Before those remarks, the fighters embraced several times and Fury had kissed Usyk on the head as if in respect and admiration.
After Fury’s remarks, water sprayed into his face from the direction of Usyk’s camp. Usyk motioned for it stop.
Later in the interview, Fury said, “I believe I won the fight but I’m not going to sit here and cry and make excuses. It was a good fight.’’
Usyk was not asked in the ring about Fury’s comments, but he was asked about whether he wanted to fight Fury again.
“Yes, of course, very much,’’ he said. “I’m ready for a rematch.’’
Judges scored the fight 115-112, 113-114, 114-113 in favor of Oleksandr Usyk.
Fury wraps Usyk up in a big hug. That’s not going to win the round, Mr. Fury. Nice exchange, and Fury is firing lefts. Usyk not counting on scorecards. He stalking and Fury is countering. Both land big rights. Usyk 114, Fury 113.
Usyk wastes no time, pounces with a left. Fury showing a little more energy and snapping jabs. Pace slows. Fury lands another uppercut. Usyk finishes with a big left. Usyk 105, Fury 103.
Usyk pressing the action. Fury bleeding again, and Usyk smelling blood again. Fury tired, but finding enough energy to showboat. Usyk all business and head shots. Usyk 95, Fury 94.
Fury seems bothered by his bleeding nose. And, well, Usyk smelling blood. Fury landing more uppercuts, but Usyk moving forward. Big lefts from Usyk. Oh, Usyk rocks Fury! Stumbling into the ropes. A knockdown. Caught by the ropes. Saved by the bell. Fury 85, Usky 85.
Fury comes out swinging, but it’s Usyk who lands. A step ladder sure would help the 6-3 Ukrainian. But he lands a big combo. Fury looks stunned. Now Fury stalking, but Usyk unloads. Fury bleeding from the nose. Fury 77, Usyk 75.
Fury wielding serious power, but Usyk still attempting to be the aggressor. Fury working Usyk’s body. Another right and Usyk surely feeling these shots. Usyk delivers a left, but Fury counters. Fury 68, Usyk 65.
Usyk still the aggressor, but Fury seems content and effective while allowing for it. Fury landing big uppercuts to Usyk’s body. And then his nose. Fury now on the attack. More heavy punches from Fury with flair. Fury 58, Usyk 56.
Usyk emerges with a slight cut over his right eye. Fury capitalizing on that size difference, scoring with punches from a safe distance. Fury looks like he’s playing with Usyk, who now is having trouble closing the gap between himself and the 6-9 Fury. Fury 48, Usyk 47.
Fury lands a couple of uppercuts to the body. Now seems in rhythm. Connecting more than in the previous rounds, and more showboating from the 6-9 jester. Usyk now firing. Fury 38, Usyk 38.
Fury lands a right, and Usyk leans in rather than backpedaling. Usyk remains the aggressor. Fury in his signature herky-jerky mode. Usyk smooth and lands a left with authority. Fury tying up Usyk. Fury delivers a combo. But Usyk dictating. Usyk 29, Fury 28.
Usyk drills Fury with a combo, followed by body shots. He’s stalking now. Usyk has him in the corner again and fights out of it with a nice jab. Fury doing as much showboating as punching. No showboating from the Ukrainian, only landing punches. Fury 19, Usyk 19.
Fighters meet in the middle. An exchange of jabs. Crowd already getting restless? Fury throws a combo and slightly more active. Fury caught in the corner, but showboating and playing to the crowd with a big smile. Usyk lands solid left. Fury 10, Usyk 9.
Saturday, May 18. The main card starts at 2 p.m. ET, and the Fury-Usyk fight will start at approximately 6 p.m. ET.
The fight is available on DAZN, PPV.COM and ESPN+.
A one-sided fight escalated into a bloody brawl as Jai Opetaia of Australia beat Mairis Briedis of Latvia by unanimous decision. The judges scored it 117-111, 116-112, and 116-12.
Surviving Briedis’ late charge, Opetaia, 28, won the IBF cruiserweight title and stayed unbeaten. He improved 25-0.
At 39, Briedis looked spry in the final rounds. But squandered the early rounds and his record dropped to 28-3.
Briedis swinging for the fences. Opetaia counters. Opetaia backpedaling and gets caught in the face. A bloodied face. The fight is escalating into a brawl. Opetaia 116, Briedis 112.
Briedis unleashing a barrage of punches. Suddenly Opetaia looks in trouble. Things getting bloody, and tense. Some wicked punches landing. And Briedis in charge. Opetaia 107, Briedis 102.
Briedis showing life again, trying to rough up Opetaia. Opetaia lands a huge left, but he’s bleeding too, and hurt. Dragged to the canvas. Back on his feet. Opetaia 98, Briedis 92.
Briedis lands early, the aggressor for the first time of the fight. Eats a jab for it. Bleeding again. But he gave as good as he got. Opetaia 89, Briedis 82.
Opetaia goes back to the plan: stalk and jab, stalk and jab. Briedis no spectator, throwing punches when the opening is there. Opetaia in command. Opetaia 80, Briedis 72.
Blood’s cleaned up and Briedis shows some vitality. Opetaia still the aggressor and lands a couple of body shots. Felt even, but Opetai still dictating the flow. Opetaia 70, Briedis 63.
Opetaia stalking and lands big lefts, bloodying Briedis’ nose. Broken? Blood’s flowing, and Briedis rallies with a flurry. But he’s covered in blood. Opetaia 60, Briedis 54.
Briedis a little more active, but not enough. Opetaia lands a couple body shots. Could be weakening Briedis. Opetaia 50, Briedis 45.
Opetaia stalking. Gets Briedis against the ropes and in the corner, makes him pay. And keeps going back to the jab. Opetaia 40, Briedis 36.
Opetaia making good use of his jab and showing nice movement. Keeping Briedis at bay and showing good ring generalship. Opetaia 30, Briedis 27.
Well, hello there, Mr. Briedis! Lets loose for a flurry punches. Delivers a big one, too. Back comes Opetaia, smothering Briedis in the corner. Both look game now. Opetaia 20, Briedis 18.
Fighters feeling things out. Opetaia throwing a few jabs, and Briedis…waking up from a nap? Opetaia 10, Briedis 9.
Anthony Cacace entered the fight as a heavy underdog. He exited as the IBF and IBO super featherweight champion.
Firing a variety of punches with impressive frequency, Cacace landed a flurry early in the eighth round and won by TKO when the referee stopped the fight.
"I’m in shock" Cacace said after the fight. "Nobody gave me a shot over here."
Cacace, 31 of Northern Ireland, improved to 22-1. Cordina, 32 of Britain, fell to 17-1.
Cacace lands a flurry of punches to the head, and it’s over! The referee stops the fight. Cacace wins by TKO.
No letup from Cacace, who’s got Cordina on the ropes and doing more damage. Cordina still game, but can’t seem to get out of way of Cacace’s punches. Cacace 68, Cordina 64.
Cacace stalking. Cordina stands his ground, punches fly. Almost inside fighting, and Cacace now the one who’s punches are landing with more force – to the body, the head, all angles. Pouring it on. Cacace 58, Cordina 55.
Boxers whaling away early, before pace slows a bit. Not for long, though. Heavy blows exchanged. Cacace loses his mouthpiece, but not the round. Cacace 48, Cordina 46.
Cordina showing some energy, lands a sharp left. From on the ropes in Round 3 to on the attack now. Cacace 38, Cordina 37.
Cacae digs in with a couple body shots, coming alive again. Then lands a huge let hook on an apparent break. Draws a warning, no penalty. Cacae pounces, unleashing punches. Down goes Cordina! Floored by a right hand. But back on his feet, and 45 seconds left in the round. He survives, barely. Cacace 29, Cordina 27.
Cordina effective with jab, but Cacace delivers a nice combination. Tactical fight, and Cacace goes on the attack. Cordina 19, Cacace 19.
Cordina initiates the action. Cacace responds. Back and forth they go, with an assortment of punches. Cordina landing with more authority. Cordina 10, Cacace 9.
Tickets for the Fury-Usyk fight still are available on StubHub, for as little as $133. But here’s guessing one bloke who recently arrived at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabi came without a ticket – or any worry about getting in.
That would be Cristiano Ronaldo.
The soccer superstar settled into a ringside seat next to Anthony Joshua, the two-time heavyweight world champion.
Kabayel dominated Sanchez before knocking him out in the seventh round of their heavyweight fight.
Kabayel dropped Sanchez twice in that round, both time with body shots, with the fight officially ending at 2:33 of the seventh round. Sanchez appeared to be hampered by a brace on his right knee.
A 31-year-old German, Kabayel improved to 25-0. Sanchez, a 31-year-old Cuban, fell to 24-1.
This light heavyweight bout was scheduled for 10 rounds, and tardy spectators missed out.
Lapin, a southpaw from Ukraine, scored a first-round knockout.
Lapin, 26, improved to 10-0 and Pudivtr, a 36-year-old from Portugal, fell to 9-2.
Lowe knocked down Ahmadi in eighth round and prevailed by points in their 10-round featherweight bout.
The judge scored it 97-92.
Lowe, a 30-year-old Brit, improved to 25-2-3. Ahmadi, 23 and born in Afghanistan, fell to 16-2.
In boxing circles, Nyika is known as The Nice Guy. Seitz might beg to differ.
Nyika, the 6-foot-6 New Zealander, handed Seitz his first loss with a TKO in the fourth round of the cruiserweight bout.
Nyika, 28, improved to 12-0. Seitz, 31, fell to 12-1.
Itauma, a top heavyweight prospect at 19, continued his trajectory with a second-round knockout over Mezencez.
Itauma appeared to score a knockdown late in the first round that the referee ruled a push. But there was no doubt about the powerful punch that floored Mezencez in the second round and led the referee to stop the fight 50 seconds into the round.
Itauma, a Brit, improved to 9-0 with seven knockouts. Mezencev, a 28-year-old German, fell to 25-4.
Chamberlain made quick work of Joshua Wahab in their light heavyweight bout. He knocked down Wahab in the first round and dropped him again moments later, prompting the referee to stop the fight with 18 seconds left in the round.
Chamberlain, a 25-year-old Brit, improved to 16-0. Wahab, a 26-year-old Nigerian, fell to 23-3.
Kovalev, the former WBO and IBO light heavyweight champion, lost for the second time in three fights. He was knocked down in the 10th and final round of the cruiserweight fight and at 41 appears to be in decline. His record dropped to 35-5-1.
Safar, a 31-year-old Swede, improved to 16-0. He won handily, with the judges scoring the fight 95-94, 99-90, 97-92.
Usyk will score a knockdown, but Fury will win the fight by TKO in the 11th round, according to Josh Peter of USA TODAY Sports.
Tyson Fury’s father head-butted a member of Oleksandr Osyk’s entourage during a media event ahead of the bout, leaving blood streaking down his own face.
The incident stemmed from a heated altercation after which John Fury appeared to ram his head into another member of the Ukrainian fighter's entourage.
"Sincere apologies to everybody involved," he said later. "It's just the way we are. Emotions and tensions are running high. He was a very disrespectful fella. If you come close in a fighting man's space, you're gonna cop for something."
Tyson Fury is 34-0-1 with 24 KOs.
Oleksandr Usyk is 21-0 with 14 KOs.
Sure, Fury still is a little flabby, but he weighed in at 262 pounds, the lightest he’s been for a fight since 2019. That’s about 15 fewer pounds that he usually carries into the ring.
Was slimmer and trimmer right choice?
“I don’t know,’’ Lennox Lewis, the former undisputed heavyweight champion, told DAZN during the livestream. “I like him with a little bit of weight on him. I’m always afraid when a guy takes off so much weight that takes off weight off his chin.
“And I’ll be looking at Tyson and I realize that he’s got skinny legs. But he’s got skinny legs and he can move well. But if he gets hit on the chin, how’s that you to affect him? That’s what I’m looking at.”
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