The eighth round was the key
Shane Furybrother of the former WBC world champion Tyson Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs) believes that in the fight for the title of absolute world champion, the Ukrainian and holder of the WBC, IBO, WBA and WBO belts Alexander Usik (22-0, 14 KOs) performed strongly and clearly.
“I was genuinely shocked when they gave the victory to Usyk. Before the judges announced the verdict, I thought Fury had won. But after watching the fight, I thought Usyk had won. I watched the fight again, and in my opinion, Usyk won it.”
“It was a very close fight, but the rounds that Tyson won, he won convincingly, he was shaking Usyk. Before the ninth round, in which Usyk shook him, Tyson was confidently winning rounds, and Oleksandr could have stolen several rounds. Then in the eighth round, Usyk hit Tyson in the nose, and it disoriented him, he lost concentration and missed. This is the heavyweight division. These things happen.”
Let us remember that on the night of May 19, Usik inflicted the first defeat in his professional career on Tyson Fury in a fight that took place at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia). The victory was awarded to the Ukrainian by a split decision: 115-112, 113-114 and 114-113.
Alexander became the first absolute heavyweight champion in the four-belt era. In the heavyweight division, the last time the absolute title was held was by Lennox Lewis in 1999, but back then three titles were enough to win the title.
Subsequently, Usyk made an appeal in which he stated that he was giving the IBF belt to the winner of the British derby between his two former opponents in the ring – Daniel Dubois and Anthony Joshua. Thus, Alexander lost the status of absolute world heavyweight champion, which he had held for more than a month.
Usyk and Fury have reached an agreement for a rematch. The “Gypsy King” has officially activated the rematch option. The second fight between Alexander and Tyson will take place on December 21, 2024, in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia). WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman said he would seek the introduction of video replays in this fight.
Source: Sportarena
I am Ashley Ortiz and I am a professional journalist working for Athletistic. My specialty is in sports journalism, particularly boxing. I have written articles for some of the most renowned publications on the subject, and my work has been featured across both print and digital media platforms.
