Usyk defeated Fury by split decision and became the absolute world heavyweight champion

Ukrainian world champion according to WBO/WBA/IBF/IBO heavyweight titles Alexander Tendril (22-0, 14 KOs) defeated WBC title holder Tyson Fury (34-1-1, 24 KO) from Great Britain in a fight for the title absolute heavyweight champion. The fight took place at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia).

In the first round, the boxers looked more closely at each other, at the same time, Fury allowed himself to fool around a little, dropping his hands.

In the fourth and fifth rounds, Tyson acted more actively and delivered more blows, including to the body. In the sixth round, the Briton began to feel even more confident; Usyk missed several dangerous blows from below.

In the eighth round, Alexander fully returned to the fight and carried out a series of successful blows. At the end of the ninth, the Ukrainian began to dominate and, after a long series, knocked down Tyson. The Briton was saved by ropes and a gong.

In the championship rounds, Fury managed to recover from a knockdown and again find opportunities to strike. Usyk continued to pursue his line, but failed to catch his opponent.

The judges’ tally by split decision gave the victory to Usyk – 115-112, 113-114 and 114-113.

Usik became the first absolute world heavyweight champion in the era of four belts. In the heavyweight division, the last time Lennox Lewis held absolute status was in 1999, but then three titles were enough for this title.

Alexander is the second boxer in history after Evander Holyfield, who was the absolute world champion in cruiserweight and heavyweight. Also, the Ukrainian boxer became the third (after Terence Crawford and Naoya Inoue) in the era of four prestigious titles to become the absolute champion in two weight categories.

It was reported that an agreement had been reached between Usyk and Fury for a re-fight. The Chairman of the General Authority of Entertainment of Saudi Arabia, Turki Al al-Sheikh, stated that the rematch between Alexander and Tyson is scheduled for October 12-13 in Riyadh.

Also, as part of the grand boxing evening in Saudi Arabia, victories were won by Ukrainian Daniel Lapin (new WBA Continental light heavyweight champion), Jay Opetaya (won the IBF heavyweight title), Moses Itauma (new WBO Intercontinental heavyweight champion), Agit Kabayel (mandatory challenger for the WBC heavyweight title) and Anthony Cacace (new IBF super featherweight champion).

𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐏𝐔𝐓𝐄𝐃 🫅 Oleksandr Usyk

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World Heavyweight Champion!

📝 115-112 Usyk, 114-113 Fury, 114-113… Usyk wins by split decision! #FuryUsyk #RingOfFire #RiyadhSeason pic.twitter.com/0XlT8ekUQ1

— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) May 18, 2024