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On Saturday night, December 21, at the Royal Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, undefeated WBO, WBA, WBC World Heavyweight Champion Oleksandr Usyk defeated Tyson “The Gypsy King” Fury for the second time to cement his place on the list. pound for pound king, and the best heavyweight of this era.
Tyson Fury entered the rematch well prepared, as he was focused on executing his game plan. Fury started the match with the adjustment he made from the first fight, but despite the adjustment, at the end of the contest, Usyk was once again declared the winner.
Oleksandr Usyk won his first world title back in September 2016 when he defeated Krzysztof Glowacki by unanimous decision to win the WBO cruiserweight title. Two years later, Usyk became the unified champion when he defeated Mairis Briedis to win the WBC belt.
Usyk would go on to make history by defeating Murat Gassiev and collecting the WBA and IBF world title belts. With the victory, Oleksandr Usyk became the first undisputed cruiserweight champion in the four-belt era. Usyk also became the first cruiserweight to go unchallenged since Evander Holyfield did it 30 years ago, back in 1988.
While Usyk dominated the heavyweight division, a trio of boxers battled for position as boxing fans tried to figure out who would become the heavyweight king. Tyson Fury was a boxer, Anthony Joshua was a popular boxer-puncher and Deontay Wilder was known as a knockout artist.
Fury and Wilder will face each other in December 2018, as the entertaining fight ended in a draw. Back in February 2020, Fury won a rematch and showed that he is ready to break away and become the best heavyweight. However, a year later, the wild card made his formal introduction to the division.
On September 25, 2021, Oleksandr Usyk made a statement when he defeated heavyweight Anthony Joshua by unanimous decision to win the WBA, IBF and WBO titles. Joshua was better prepared for the second fight, but fell again, as Usyk won the rematch by split decision.
Usyk continued to fight against Daniel Dubois, and stopped him in the 9th round. Next on Usyk’s agenda was a chance to make history when he stepped into the ring in May 2024 to face undefeated WBC World Heavyweight Champion Tyson Fury.
Usyk was the aggressor as he forced Fury to fight off the back foot. At the end of the 12-round contest, Oleksandar Usyk won by split decision. By defeating Fury, Oleksandr Usyk made history by becoming the third male boxer to remain undisputed in two divisions.
Seven months later, the long-awaited rematch took place. Early in the fight, Fury showed some adjustment as he pushed forward and was the aggressor. However, as the fight progressed, the southpaw Usyk was able to regain the aggressor role as he pressed forward and consistently shot from the left side.
At the end of the match, Oleksandar Usyk was once again declared the winner, as all three judges scored the match 116-112 in favor of Usyk. With the victory, Usyk also defeated Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury twice.
With four wins overall against Joshua and Fury, and a win over Daniel Dubois, Oleksandr Usyk has established himself as the current number one pound-for-pound fighter in the world and the best heavyweight of this era.
With a combination of his boxing skills, footwork, timing, punch placement and ring intelligence, unified world heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk (23-0, 14 KOs) is a nightmare.
37-year-old Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk has officially won the heavyweight division, and now the question is whether he will stay in the heavyweight division or return to the cruiserweight division?
