Usik has four wins in December, Fury has a draw
Rematch between former WBC world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury (34-1-1, 24 KO) and holder of WBC, IBO, WBA and WBO heavyweight belts Alexander Usik (22-0, 14 KOs), scheduled for December 21I will close the boxing year 2024. For the Ukrainian, the upcoming fight will be the fifth in his career in December, for Fury – the sixth. Three weeks before rematch between Usyk and Fury Sport Arena recalls how the Ukrainian and the British fought in the last month of the year.
The latest fight for Usik and Fury
December 21 is the latest date in the professional records of both boxers. Before the rematch with Fury, Usyk fought his most recent fight on December 17 against Thabiso Mchunu. Fury, before the re-fight with Usik, had his latest fight on December 18 against Zach Page.
At the same time, Usik last fought in December eight years ago – in 2016, defeating the already mentioned Mchunu. Fury entered the ring in December two years ago, against Chisora.
Usyk: four knockouts in December
Oleksandr Usyk had four fights in December: three in Ukraine, one in the USA. That’s it – he won, and ahead of schedule.
For the first time in December, Usik entered the ring in 2013, in his second fight as a pro. In Brovary, Alexander defeated Epifano Mendoza in the fourth round. The second December fight – in 2014 – became Usik’s sixth as a professional: Dani Winter in Kyiv lasted less than nine rounds against the Ukrainian.
A year later, also in the capital’s Sports Palace, in his ninth professional fight, Usik defeated Julio Rodriguez in the seventh round. And the already mentioned Mchunu withstood Usik for almost nine rounds in 2016 in California.
Fury began his professional career in December
Yes, on December 6, 2008, the Gypsy King made his professional debut with an early victory over Bela Gendeshi (45 seconds before the end of the first round).
After 11 fights – in December 2010 – Fury had to tinker with Zach Page: winning on points in an 8-round fight. The entire 12-round distance with the Gypsy King on December 1, 2012 was fought by then-American Kevin Johnson in Fury’s 20th fight.
But another American, Deontay Wilder, in December 2018, in the first fight of the trilogy with the Briton, managed to knock down Fury twice, but this was not enough to win: a draw. Dereck Chisora, who fought Tyson Fury in 2022, lacked nine seconds to last 10 rounds.
Read also: UNCONDITIONAL! 10 facts proving the greatness of Usik
Let us remember that on the night of May 18-19, Usik inflicted the first defeat in his professional career on Tyson 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.
Source: Sportarena
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