Usik: This is a great time and a great day

Absolute world heavyweight champion Alexander Usik hot on the heels, right in the ring, commented on his victory over the former WBC champion Tyson Fury in a unification battle.

“Father! Can you hear me? We did it! We did it!!!” – these were the first emotional words of the Ukrainian champion with tears in his eyes.

“Thank you very much to my team. Thank you very much to my God, Jesus Christ. Your Excellency [Турки Аль аш-Шейх], thank you. This is a great opportunity for me, for my family, for my country. Glory to Ukraine!”

“This is a great time and a great day. Thank you, Tyson. Without you this would not have been possible.”

“Revenge? Yes, of course, I’m ready for a rematch. Let’s have another good fight!”

Let us remember that on the night of May 19, Usik inflicted the first defeat in his professional career on Fury in a fight that took place at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia). In the ninth round, Alexander knocked down the “Gypsy King” deeply, and only the referee’s intervention prevented the fight from ending ahead of schedule. As a result, the victory was awarded to the Ukrainian by a split decision: 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.